But manager Danny Wilson has rightly refused to allow injuries to Ben Clark, Willie Boland, Richie Jones and, now, Michael Nelson, to be used as excuses for defeats at Tranmere and Millwall away and at home to Stockport.
Pools could, and should, have got something out of all three games if they had played as well as they did in the first match against Colchester.
But they didn't match that form, and they only have themselves to blame for being in the middle of the table now instead of much closer to the top.
And after his flying start to the campaign, with three goals againt Colchester and Scunthorpe, it's time James Brown got back on target, while his strike partner Joel Porter could also do with upping his scoring record.
It's been alleged this week that Wilson is looking at signing former Sunderland striker Kevin Kyle, and there couldn't be a more different forward to Brown and Porter.
Surely if he wants somebody to batter the opposing defence, he already has such a player in Richard Barker. Kyle has been around, but has never scored consistently and even though he's won Scotland caps, he's hardly Kenny Dalglish or Denis Law. In fact, he's hardly even Richard Barker.
The squad might be small, made even smaller by injuries, but surely Brown and Porter are good enough to cause problems for defences, especially at the Vic. The home defeat against Stockport was a travesty, and hopefully Brown and Porter will be given another chance against Cheltenham to show that they can be just as effective together as Porter and Adam Boyd were a few seasons ago.
the Cheltenham game is followed by another home match, against early pacesetters Oldham, and these two games in eight days should gave ius a fairly accurate guide as to what we can expect from Pools this season.


 Cheltenham, bottom of League One with just three points from their five games, are nicknamed "The Robins", probably because  while all their players have different surnames, their first names are all Robin. Or is it because they model for Christmas cards in their spare time (left), or because they whistle all the time?
Or ... are they friends of Batman?

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