NEALE COOPER appears to have made the right choice when deciding to turn his back on after-dinner speaking in an attempt to prove his worth as a manager at Hartlepool United.

Now, instead of doing a turn in front of gathered rooms, comedian Cooper chooses to direct humour towards lifting spirits in the Pool camp.

As Hartlepool prepare for a replay with Brentford this afternoon, seeking to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time, his side's lofty position in League One also suggests his jokes on the training field are having the desired effect.

A date with Premiership Southampton awaits the winners of today's sell-out replay at Victoria Park so the stakes are high for Cooper and his players.

The chances of promotion to the Championship remain equally lofty. Pool, play-off losers to Bristol City last season, lie fifth in the league and are only seven points adrift of an automatic place with at least one game in hand over their rivals.

"I used to do a lot of after-dinner speaking but I don't any more," said Cooper, who can do a fine impression of Newcastle boss Graeme Souness and Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I prefer being a football manager, there's not the same pressure. Even hearing people talking about Hartlepool's cup record doesn't put any extra pressure on us. We don't put any pressure on the players, we just get on with the job.

"This is only a small club and we are all very close. The backroom staff are a big part of the team and the fans are very important in everything we do.

"We all have to work together because we have limited resources. What we have is something you can't buy. We have to work very hard.

"Our average home crowd is just under 5,000. Sheffield Wednesday are getting 27,000. Financially, that makes it hard to compete straight away. We can't pay big wages the same as they can.

"We can't pay £300,000 for a player like Bristol City can. We just have to work to what we have.

"We get great backing from the chairman. When we need someone, he does everything he can to try to pay a decent wage. But we often are unable to pay what other clubs do."

Since Cooper took over from Mike Newell in June 2003, after Pool had gained promotion from the Third Division (now League Two), eyebrows were raised by fans over the appointment of an unknown Scot who had enjoyed relative success at Ross County north of the border.

Both Cooper and his assistant Martin Scott have been linked with a number of jobs over the last 12 months and their work in the North-East is sure to get them recognised for future roles.

Cooper, who guided the club to its highest ever finish last season, said: "I love it here.

"I'm very grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity. I have to mention Martin, who is a great friend as well as a great coach and great support.

"It's just nice to be involved with this club at the moment. It was great to see people queuing down the street for tickets on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That was strange to see - it was fantastic.

"I hope we have a full house for the Brentford game. The crowd has been behind us all season and they know that they will get everything from myself, from my staff and from my players. There's a good spirit about the place and, if we can keep this going, it will be a great achievement."

The chances of Pool progressing are high. The burgeoning talents of striker Adam Boyd and midfielder Antony Sweeney, who have 30 goals between them, have helped their side to an unbeaten 12-game run.

Pool are also undefeated on home soil in all competitions since May 1 last year.

"The players are really looking forward to this game. We had a hard game at Brentford but we managed to stay in the competition and it was nice to go into the draw for the next round," said Cooper, whose side drew 0-0 at Griffin Park a fortnight ago.

"We both have an opportunity to go on to what will be a big game next weekend at Southampton. It's great for prestige, as well as for financial reasons.

"We have to match Brentford in all departments. If we do that we have a chance.

"I have yet to beat Brentford since I have been here but we did well down there in the first game. We defended well and deserve the opportunity to bring them back to our place."

Read more about Hartlepool here.