Hartlepool 3-0 Walsall

Hartlepool United director of sport Chris Turner has admitted keeping his squad happy will be one of his biggest challenges this season.

Pools' 3-0 home win against Walsall on Saturday highlighted the strength within the squad and Turner says maintaining unity will be a key factor.

"This squad is one of the strongest the club has ever had," he told BBC Tees.

"The difficulty is trying to juggle the players around so they feel part of things and get first-team football."

Saturday's win at Victoria Park was the first for the club this season on home soil, coming after five league and cup matches without a victory.

The disappointing run was in contrast to the Teessiders' form on their travels where Turner's side has picked up three wins in all competitions but the former Sheffield Wednesday and Stockport manager revealed he always maintained faith in his players.

"We've got some good players here and we've had an extraordinarily tough start to the season against clubs you can't afford to give an opportunity to - Bristol Rovers, Norwich and Charlton," he added.

"I've always been confident we were going to turn the corner at home, some of the performances apart from the Norwich one have been reasonable to good.

"We could easily have beaten Wycombe and be talking a different story, but the season's over 46 games, our aim's to better what we did last year, and if we get to a good position after Christmas then who knows what might be achievable.

"I'm seeing gradual improvement in the whole football club and the football side, and the quality and competition within the squad."

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