ALAN Pouton and Martin Woods go straight into contention for their Hartlepool United debuts this afternoon, after the pair moved to Victoria Park on loan.

With his thin squad ravaged by injury, Pool boss Neale Cooper first signed Woods from Leeds, then followed it up with the capture of Tyneside-born Pouton from Gillingham ahead of the trip to Oldham.

With Hugh Robertson facing up to three months out with a foot injury, Micky Barron still a couple of weeks from a return and Darrell Clarke recently undergoing a knee operation, Cooper's squad - and patience - was being stretched to breaking point.

Mark Tinkler could return from an Achilles injury, but Eifion Williams is a doubt and Cooper yesterday lost Jack Ross with a recurrence of the knee injury which ruled him out of part of the pre-season campaign.

So the need for new faces, after sailing through last season almost unscathed, was great.

"Alan is a big, strong lad who is good on the ball and likes to get stuck in,'' said Cooper.

"He has a good range of passing and we're pleased to have him.

"We watched Martin play for Leeds reserves in midweek against Sunderland and he impressed us.

"Everyone knows we need some new faces and it's a relief to get them in.''

Pouton played for York alongside both Tinkler and Pool youth team coach Paul Stephenson in the midfield and twice won the player of the year award at Grimsby.

He moved to Gillingham last January, but, after appearing regularly last season, has only featured once this term.

One player who opted against a move to Pool will be in opposition this afternoon.

Following a month on loan from Barnsley, Kevin Betsy chose a move to Oldham and he will line up in the Latics' forward line today.

Cooper revealed this week that he wasn't willing to offer Betsy the money he was asking for - deciding that he wasn't going to be the best player at the club so he didn't deserve the wages he was demanding which would have made him the highest paid.

But opposite number Brian Talbot will put him in the forward line and said: "He's a player that I've watched consistently for years now since he was at Woking.

"I've never been able to afford him before, the problem was we couldn't afford him this time but there's been a deal done with Barnsley, they've obviously wanted him off their payroll so he was available and now he's available on a free and we've taken him on.

"He's come into our club, he can play right side midfield, he can play left side midfield, he can play through the middle and he's a player who I've wanted to work with for a while.

"I haven't spoken to Paul Hart, but Kevin said he'd brought in a lot of new players in the summer and got rid of the old regime that Kevin was a part of.''

Talbot, in charge of Rushden when they pipped Pool for the Division Three title two season's back, watched Pool win at Huddersfield last month and said: "They're a hard working side, they did very well last season.

"I saw them play this season at Huddersfield, two-fold, I went to watch Hartlepool play and to watch Kevin Betsy, he scored a good goal that night and they won 2-0 and deserved to win.

"I think Boyd has got a lot of attention this year, he's done well, I think Williams has done well since he's gone there as well, the two strikers and obviously they're quite strong and organised at the back, Nelson's a good header of the ball and Westwood is quick.

"I wouldn't say that they've got any star players but they've got an all round well organised team."

Pool will wear a new, third kit today - one of four occasions this season when they are unable to wear either their home or away kit.

The players will wear black armbands in memory of Paul Mullen, the club's former media manager who passed away last Saturday.

Read more about Hartlepool here.