Manager reaction to the Hartlepool game
United manager Greg Abbott spoke to us at full time on Saturday about the 2-1 turnaround at Hartlepool.
He said: “We’ve had to work hard and stay patient but we got there with what was a very honest performance in the end.
“It was a typical derby game, which had just about everything, and the best thing about today has been the spirit and determination. We fought back and it’s great for the fans because it’s one of their more local games. They watched us lose it within 20 minutes last season and we didn’t want a repeat of that this time round.
“We kept working hard, we played some good football and we deserved the result in the end.
“I think this type of game sums up what this season is going to be. It’s a really tough division and we’re going to have to stick together to make sure we keep the improvement going and to make sure we keep pushing on. We’ll keep looking for the players who will come in and help us with that and, until that happens, we’ve seen again that we already have a group who are going to try and do us proud every week.
“As well as a team performance we’ve seen a couple of individuals step up to the plate in this one. We’re delighted for Danny [Cadamarteri] because he has worked his socks off. He got his goal ... a really good striker’s goal ... and that will do him the world of good. He was a problem for them all day because of his work ethic and we think he will only get better.
“The back four had their work cut out because Steve Howard is a real handful. Murph [Peter Murphy] and Mike [Edwards] have had to handle that and then deal with the pace Hartlepool had in support, and they haven’t put a foot wrong. Sometimes all you can do is roll your sleeves up and get on with it and I thought we did that today.
“Murph has come away needing a couple of stitches just above his nose and Danny [Cadamarteri] has a small cut on his eye from a clash with the keeper, but that’s what we have to do. When the fans see their players putting everything on the line they appreciate it and give the type of reception our 600 or so gave us today.
“We deliberately left the substitutions until a little bit later because we want these lads to really grow into what they are doing. They definitely do give you plenty to think about though because Mark Beck has come on and he has given their back four a lot to worry about. Dave [Symington] did what he does and he had his man completely on the back foot. These young lads have been a really big bonus for us because they have grasped their opportunity. We’ll keep using them in a way which we feel will benefit everybody.
“It was a big day for Mark [Gillespie] because of the atmosphere and everything surrounding the game, but he did well. He’s shown us in the last two games that he can cope with the mental side of being in that position so there is a real fight on for the number one shirt now. Again, that can only be good for everyone.
“We go away feeling really pleased. We can come into work on Monday with two good performances from last week under our belt and we can get ourselves ready to go again. It’s going to be a tough season, but if we work for each other like this we’re going to make ourselves very difficult to deal with.”