Chris's case for the defence as Moors head into unknown

SOLIHULL Moors will be in the relative dark when they head to the northeast to face a Hartlepool side seeking a 14th permanent manager in the last seven years.

- By COLIN STONER

But, according to boss Chris Millington, such uncertainty over Pools' personnel and tactics under an interim stand-in will only intensify Moors' spotlight on getting the very best out of their performance.

Millington has overseen back-to-back wins over Braintree Town and Blackburn Rovers in the past week and insists they are still very much a "work in progress" in his fledgling Damson Park reign.

Hartlepool axed former Leeds, Blackpool and Preston boss Simon Grayson two weeks ago after just four months in charge following a run of one win in 11 games and Nicky Featherstone, Pools' third highest all-time appearance maker, has stepped into the interim role. Remarkably, from the 13 permanent appointments made by current chairman Raj Singh, who took over in 2018, only promotion-winning boss Dave Challinor has survived more than a year in the role.

And while Moors will do their wide-ranging research, led by analyst Megan Reesby, it will be tough to accurately anticipate what to expect at Victoria Park - but that won't faze Millington.

"Nicky Featherstone is taking the team at the moment and the problem that presents for us is that there isn't a great deal of track record with Nicky managing," he added.

"It's difficult to figure out his preferred shape, to figure out his approach, what sort of style they will implement with the players they've got available. I know they've got one or two injuries at the moment, we're not 100 per cent on where those injuries are in terms of availability so there are a number of question marks.