FRUSTRATED in his efforts to make signings last week, Ronnie Moore is seeking a quick breakthrough.

Following Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Luton, and the 3-0 home reverse to Bristol Rovers last week, the Hartlepool United boss is out to boost his options.

But he’s admitted he won’t be taking any old cast-offs from other clubs for the sake of it.

"There has to be new faces, but you can't dive in and take the dross,’’ he admitted. "If you do that you hang yourself, so it has to be right, somebody who is better than what we have got.

"And if they are not we have to work with what we have got and make them better but sometimes you can't take a horse to water.

"There is nobody in this team who could complain if I left them out after that second half defensive display."

After the win at Yeovil the previous weekend, Pools were confident ahead of back to back home games, and now, with successive away trips to come – at Northampton and then Dagenham – Moore had his players in for training on Sunday to try and cure their problems.

"The players were in Sunday, working with the back four and as a group,’’ he said. "I have to be honest and if someone is not doing it, they need to be told.

"As a back four we are not quite right. We need to get them together.

"The forwards and midfielders have done their defensive job. We have been done with a ball over the top, a square ball and one blasted in from 20-yards.

"If that is the same guy making mistakes then out you go, but it is a few of them.

"That is why they are where they are and we will have inconsistencies.

"It is trying to make that back four solid and that is the hard part.

"They don't like me criticising them as a back four but it is a man's world - if you don’t like it then don’t be a footballer.

"I'd rather have pats on the back, they are much better, as a manager but if things aren't going right then you get some hammer and stick.

"To have players saying 'you shouldn't be speaking to me like that' well go and get a nappy on then.

"It is a man's world. It is people's careers, jobs at stake. It is grow up, we all have mortgages to pay.

"You can't be conceding seven goals and at home and not criticise your back four."

Moore also now has goalkeeper Trevor Carson available. He has not played yet this season after breaking a toe, but was on the bench for the Luton game.

Moore said: "Trev is back now and fully fit. It is just a case of is he going to come back in and play?

"You can't blame the keeper for the seven goals, but we have to wait and see what happens with that."