HARTLEPOOL United go to Oldham tonight in the LDV Vans Trophy, with their away form again under scrutiny.

Pool have lost eight League One games on the road this season - winning just once - but in this competition they came away from Carlisle United in the last round with a single goal victory.

Pool were knocked out of the competition at Oldham in the first round last season, losing on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

But, against one of the Division's strugglers, centre-back Chris Westwood sees it as a chance to right the wrongs of Pool's away troubles.

"Our away form has been disappointing, but it's got to change sometime,'' he said.

"Fair enough, there has been a few times when we've been mullered away from home, but there have also been a few times when we have lost games we haven't deserved to.

"We lost at Brentford with the last kick of the match after being the better team and that was hard to take.

"Oldham are in the same division as us, but are below us in the table. We won away from home in this compeition in the last round and some people rubbished it, saying it was only Carlisle.

"But they had been playing well and it was an away win for us. It may have helped us get over our problems and change our fortunes.

"We'll be up against (former loanee) Kevin Betsy as well, which adds something to the game. In a way, there's a nice kind of pressure on us.

"It's a cup game, so it's a great chance for us to go on and reach the last four.''

Pool have only gone beyond this stage of the competition once before - in 1988 they beat Sunderland at Roker Park, before losing to Preston at the Victoria Ground in the semi-final.

Oldham won 3-1 at Bradford on Saturday and will give a debut tonight to Rob Lee, the former Newcastle midfielder who has been out of the game since leaving West Ham earlier this season.

Betsy,who was on loan at Pool earlier this season before quitting Victoria Park to join Oldham, will start up front.

He scored on his debut for The Latics against Pool in September, as his new side won 3-2, and was sent off in the last round of the competition.

* Pool have been hit by the news midfielder Jack Ross wants to quit the club. The former Clyde player has asked to be released from his contract so he can return to Scotland for 'family and personal reasons'.

Manager Neale Cooper said: "It's obviously disappointing. The club have invested time, money and effort in Jack to get him to come to Hartlepool and then, after his injury, to get him fit.

"If an opportunity does not arise in the January transfer window then I am sure Jack will remain professional in his attitude to the club and be available until the end of the season."

Read more about Hartlepool here.