Snow has already had an impact on the football calendar this season

Hartlepool United director of sport Chris Turner has revealed the impact the recent spate of wintry weather has had on the club's match preparations.

Pools have been unable to train on the turf pitches at their Durham University training base and Turner admitted it hampers his plans.

"We can't be out on grass, we can't do the shape work," he told BBC Tees.

"We do have a 3G pitch but at the moment even that has four or five inches of snow on it."

Snow and ice have already had an impact on the football calendar, from the Premier League right the way down to grassroots leagues.

Last weekend's entire Blue Square Premier fixture programme fell foul of the weather, while Bolton v Wigan at the DW Stadium on Monday was postponed because of fears for crowd safety around the ground.

Weather permitting, Pools' next outing comes away at Leeds United on Boxing Day, with the league leaders unbeaten in all competitions since late October's 2-1 loss at Millwall.

Meanwhile Turner's side have just one win in their last five, coincidentally a 3-0 defeat of highflying Millwall, although performances have been good and the club has picked up results against Swindon, Oldham and Gillingham.

It is a tough league and I keep saying we're punching well above our weight Hartlepool United boss Chris Turner

And the former Sheffield Wednesday boss admitted clubs like Leeds are making it harder for traditional 'League One' clubs to make an impact, despite Pools' relatively strong position in mid-table.

"I was talking to (Yeovil boss) Terry Skiverton on Saturday after the game and Terry made a good point in that the league is littered with good sides with strong squads, bigger than what they and we are," he said.

"You just get a bit of momentum going and your next three games are say, Norwich, Charlton and Southampton, and that halts any progress for teams like ourselves and Yeovil, in terms of getting maximum points and it's a battle.

"It is a tough league and I keep saying we're punching well above our weight, when you consider our attendances and what we can attract to the club compared to a lot of other teams in our division. But it's enjoyable and we are progressing.

"The second half of the season is a tough start with the away games of Norwich, Southampton and Charlton, and hopefully we can pick up better than what we did in the first quarter because there are some winnable games at that back-end of the season."

Pools are currently 11th in League One, with 27 points from 22 games.

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