DETERMINED Mike Newell is ready to stamp his own mark on Hartlepool United's title-chasing squad.

Despite leading the table all season, Pool have stuttered of late and Tuesday's defeat at Wrexham saw their lead at the top reduced to seven points.

No-one at Victoria Park is panicking, but Newell admits Pool are lacking the spark and added edge which has helped them to an almost unassailable lead at the top of the league this season.

And he is determined to get his title-chasers back on track to Division Two.

Pool go to Bristol Rovers on Saturday seeking their first away win since the trip to Macclesfield on January 11.

The Pool boss admits his team are looking flat and said: "I think the lads have looked tired the past couple of games.

"It happened on Saturday against Southend and again against Wrexham. You go through spells in the season when you feel a little jaded.

"So we might need to freshen it up and we will do that. We are not afraid, whether that comes from within the squad or from outside it is something we have to look at.

"We are not creating in the final third like we were doing a few weeks ago. We haven't been doing anything different in training - that has stayed the same all along.''

Pool conceded after just three minutes on Tuesday and, despite enjoying plenty of possession in the second period, they succumbed to a Scott Green goal which came on the break.

"It was a poor start, but on the other side of the coin, it gives you plenty of time to get back into the game.

"It was a disappointing performance all round. We didn't create anything like the chances we need to score goals.

"We were waiting more for a decent chance to come along.

"We have not played particularly well in the last three games, but we got results and points against Bury and Southend. The fact that we are not creating chances is the only thing that worries us as we created chances before that.''

Rovers are in the relegation dogfight and lost at home to York on Tuesday. Newell added: "Bristol will be a battle on Saturday because they are fighting for their lives and futures, but we will pick the lads up for it.

"We were only a goal down and had to be patient but we went a bit gung-ho and lost the second goal.

"In the second half we had a spell of 20 minutes but didn't create many chances with the possession we had."

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