A look this weekend's opponents
This Saturday sees us host Hartlepool United in a crucial League Two fixture at the LCI Rail Stadium.The Monkey Hangers currently sit 23rd in the table on 43 points from 44 games and haven’t won any of their last seven matches.
They dropped into the relegation zone last weekend following a 2-0 loss to Barnet, which prompted manager Dave Jones to leave the club by mutual consent.
30-year-old defender Matthew Bates has been placed in caretaker charge for their final two games, with Billy Paynter, Stuart Parnaby and Ian Gallagher assisting him.
Bates has been at Hartlepool since 2014 and previously played for the likes of Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Bradford - as well as also being capped by England at Under 18 and Under 19 level.
He will know that anything but a win for his side will see Cheltenham confirm their place in the Football League, and Hartlepool will be relegated if they don’t pick up three points but Newport do in their match against Carlisle.
Bates has a decision to make as to whether or not he should start former Robins goalkeeper Trevor Carson this weekend, as came back earlier than expected following a shoulder injury by being on the bench in their last match.
In other team news they will be without Liam Donnelly as he’s suspended, and Kenton Richardson is struggling with an ankle injury.
Their top scorer is Padraig Amond, who has netted 14 times so far this season, with Lewis Alessandra and Nathan Thomas behind him on nine goals each.
We’ve already faced them once this season, back in November, as goals from Alessandra and Bates either side of half time handed The Pools a 2-0 win.
Overall we’ve faced Hartlepool 18 times since 1999, winning nine times, drawing four times and losing on just five occasions.