HARTLEPOOL United were rocked last night by the news that the Mill House stand at Victoria Park will not be open for this afternoon's Division Three opener with Mansfield Town.

The Safety Advisory Committee decided the stand was unsafe after their final inspection of the ground yesterday.

And now measures have had to be put in place to ensure that all previously bought tickets are still valid for today's match.

Supporters in possession of tickets for the seating part of the Mill House stand will now be housed in the Cyril Knowles Stand. Mill House terrace ticket holders will be accommodated in the Town End.

There are 400 tickets still available for the Town End and 300 for the Cyril Knowles Stand. The ground capacity has been reduced to 3,945.

Meanwhile, Pool boss Chris Turner is likely to recall goalkeeper Martin Hollund to the starting line-up for the Mansfield clash.

The Norwegian stopper has been pushing last season's regular No 1, Anthony Williams, for his place during the summer and it is understood Hollund has won the battle to start the new campaign between the posts.

Wing-back Jon Bass is also in line to face the Field Mill outfit, with Hartlepool-born Paul Arnison finding himself on the bench.

A Pool side that included Arnison played at West Allotment Celtic on Thursday night and the selections suggest that both the 23-year-old and centre-back James Sharp will be disappointed at the 3pm kick-off today.

The quality that Turner has on the bench is another firm indication how strong Pool are looking going into the new season.

And Turner is hoping for the perfect start against the Stags, despite their opponents' pre-season.

Mansfield have enjoyed a decent warm-up period which included a win over Premiership Sunderland.

But Turner can boast an unbeaten seven-match stretch that he is hoping to see continue against Bill Dearden's men.

"It's imperative that you get off to a good start," said Turner.

"If you do it gives the whole squad the extra edge. It gets that first win out of the way early and is a good feeling.

"But I am not one of those who think that if you lose your first game then you are fighting a lost cause.

"I like to look at the league table after about 15 games and it's then when you can see how things are shaping up.

"It's no good being in good shape early on and then fading away. In fact you are better off being good from October onwards.

"But still it would be nice to win our first match of the season."

Turner has brought in striker Ritchie Humphreys, Bass and midfielders Darrell Clarke and Tommy Widdrington during pre-season, all wise buys.

Clarke, a £75,000 purchase from Mansfield, is not likely to start against his old teammates after just recovering from a thigh strain, but is on the bench after playing at West Allotment Celtic.

So the Pool midfield of Widdrington, Paul Stephenson and Mark Tinkler virtually picks itself.

That triumvirate will find themselves against tricky and exciting opposition.

Mansfield will field a young central midfield pairing of Craig Disley and Lee Williamson, who have both been attracting interest from the higher leagues.

But the area Turner fears most from the Field Mill outfit is their two strong strikers, Shayne Bradley and Chris Greenacre. Fortunately for Turner though, Bradley is unlikely to play after missing training all week with a heel injury.

Giant 19-year-old Andy White is almost certain to deputise and the news came as a relief to Turner, who still expects a tough encounter.

"The two frontmen of Shayne Bradley and Chris Greenacre are a really impressive partnership," said Turner.

"They will cause a few clubs problems this year, and we will have to watch them closely if they do play.

"They will miss Bradley if he is out but I'm sure the lad White will come in and he will be eager to impress."

* Liverpool fans should not be too jubilant if Gerard Houllier's Treble-winners beat Manchester United in tomorrow's Charity Shield at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

For the last four years, winning the Charity Shield has proved to be the kiss of death when it comes to the title.

Chelsea finished sixth after beating United 2-0 in last season's showpiece curtain raiser.

United's 4-0 romp over Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United in 1996 remains the last time the team that won the Charity Shield went on to lift the championship trophy.

Read more about Hartlepool here.