RECORD-BREAKING Gordon Watson is backing Hartlepool United's wingers to provide him with even more goals this season.

Watson scored goal number 13 for the first time in his 14-year career against Scunthorpe United on Tuesday night, and he is hoping to continue in the same vein of form at Carlisle this afternoon - providing the game gets the go-ahead.

The 30-year-old, whose previous best of 12 came in the 1993-94 season for Sheffield Wednesday, also believes that with the service he is receiving he can find the net a lot more often.

James Coppinger, on loan from Newcastle United, and Paul Smith have been causing problems to Pool's opponents and Watson urged the pair to keep up the good work.

"Copps did well against both Scunthorpe and Rushden," said Watson. "But so he should.

"The lad has been training week in and week out with a Premiership club for years and he should be able to come down to this level and cause problems.

"To his credit he has adjusted quickly and we have benefited from his talent and the balls he has played have been a great help.

"But Smudger (Smith) has been equally as good and we should not forget that.

"We have been encouraging him to come inside a lot more often and he is starting to do that. He is a quality player if we can just get him to beat his man a bit more.

"And before Copps came in we had Darrell Clarke playing well. Unfortunately he got injured but he was playing some good balls in as well."

When Clarke returns from a thigh injury the competition for places will be back on and Watson believes that is vital to Pool's play-off push.

But the former Bradford, Southampton and Charlton man insists he is not even considering whether or not Chris Turner's side will be able to sneak into the top seven, despite being just six points adrift of Scunthorpe, who occupy that last play-off spot.

Watson said: "We have got fights for places in most areas of the pitch.

"Take Paul Stephenson - he was a regular and now he has to bide his time on the bench because of the squad we have got. That can only help us.

"There is a lot of talk about the play-offs and promotion but I do not even want to talk about it because there is still a long way to go.

"If we go on a good run then who knows? But all I'm concerned with is making sure we secure as many points as we can.

"We have got an excellent team here, it's just a case of making sure we are consistent."

Watson, who signed until the end of the season in September, has revealed he is delighted with how things are going at Pool.

But he indicated that he will not discuss his future until after the final game of the current campaign.

"We will sit down at the end of the season and see what happens," said Watson. "I think they will want me, but who knows?

"If they do then we will just have to see. We have said all along that we would not discuss anything until the summer."

Pool boss Chris Turner is expecing a battle at Brunton Park and admitted: "We will have to roll our sleeves up and fight. We like to play football, but sometimes you have to be a bit more direct and dig a result out.''

The Pool chief has added Kevin Henderson and Jermaine Easter to the squad that beat Scunthorpe on Tuesday.

Pool will be without Tommy Widdrington after he tore a hamstring in midweek and Turner could opt to bring Adam Boyd into the starting line-up.

* Heavy rain on the west coast has left the Brunton Park pitch saturdated and the game is expected to be called off when a pitch inspection is held at 9.30

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