Danny Wilson

By Clarence Rode
January 9 2008

Danny Wilson says his push to sign new players for Hartlepool’s second half of the season is making slow progress, so don’t expect too many new faces in the squad for Saturday’s League One visit to Northampton. Without a game last weekend, as Southend were playing in the FA Cup, Pools should be busting to get back into action.

And after a disappointing festive programme, one or two members of the squad should be hoping to use the Northampton game as a chance to repair some of the damage done in recent weeks.
Pools have under-performed in the first half of the season and even allowing for injuries, there shouldn’t really be any need for Wilson to be scouring the transfer market looking for reinforcements.
Some results and performances have suggested they should be doing a lot better than they are, but of course for every good show there has been at least one bad one. Inconsistency has been the team’s main problem since the season kicked-off in August.
Not only has the team’s form been inconsistent, so has the form of a number of individual players. Players who were outstanding in last season’s promotion drive have been disappointing this season and on current form – or lack of it – the best Pools can hope for is mid-table mediocrity.
Many fans would have settled for that before the season started, but it's been frustrating because the team has shown it could be doing so much better.
It’s because of inconsistency that Wilson’s January window search is more intense than he had perhaps hoped it would be. He’s not giving much away himself, but he’s been linked with a number of players, from full-backs to goalscoring forwards.
He has another three weeks to make some progress in the transfer market, and how well he performs will be a major influence on where Pools finish when the season ends in May.
It could even go as far as to decide his future at the club.