MICK WADSWORTH might have fallen in to the position of leading Hartlepool United’s first-team affairs in August – now he has designs on leading them to the top six.

The departure of Chris Turner, the director of sport who operated as the team’s manager, two months ago led to Wadsworth being handed the reins on a caretaker basis by chairman Ken Hodcroft.

And while the weeks have gone by in which Hodcroft could have made a more longterm appointment, Wadsworth has gone about proving there might be no need to change things.

Sir Bobby Robson’s former assistant has helped Pools on a promising run of form and they head in to a home date with Bristol Rovers on the back of two defeats from six in League One.

A victory over Rovers would see Hartlepool climb level on points with the Pirates, which is just a point shy of the playoff zone ahead of this weekend’s round of fixtures.

Wadsworth, formerly in charge of Huddersfield, Oldham and Carlisle, among others, has the taste for it again.

At this rate, he could take some shifting.

“I love it. It is a nice club and I have liked working here from the first moment I got here,” said Wadsworth, brought in by Turner earlier this year.

“It is a club improving immensely from the 90s and that is down to the untold hard work of a lot of people. I feel at home here.

“Things haven’t gone as well as I would have liked, I want them to go well. I want us to be a play-off team. I don’t want us to be bottom six, seven, a mid-table team.

“I would like us to push on and things can change quickly.

With a bit of luck, we could be an outside bet for a play-off place.”

For that to happen Wadsworth feels the mentality within the Hartlepool dressing room needs to be addressed.

A few years of struggle and change have taken their toll.

“We have the squad if we can change the belief pattern,”

he said. “Last Saturday was a case in point at Leyton Orient, we should have got a point or won, but we let ourselves down in the last few minutes. We could be better.

“The players, individuals, need to believe once more.

They have to believe what I believe.

We work on that constantly but we are getting there.”

Wadsworth is still unable to call on injured trio Ritchie Humphreys, Adam Boyd or James Brown this afternoon.

He hopes, though, that their returns will not be too far away.

He has pencilled Humphreys in for a reserve team outing next week in the hope he can put to bed the hamstring and thigh problems which have kept him out of action.

It was the player’s testimonial golf day earlier this week, when he outlined an intention to step into management when he eventually retires from playing.

And Wadsworth, who has had the 32-year-old helping him out on the coaching team since taking over first team affairs, thinks Humphreys is a natural.

“He has been a great servant to football in general,”

said Wadsworth.

“He has been a PFA rep, he has done his coaching badges, he has a lot to offer when his career ends.

“He is no age, if he can stay fit, he is an intelligent player so he has a far better chance of having a long career than many.

“He is destined for coaching.

He is bright, intelligent, motivated, interested. He has been a big help to me since the handover and settled in to a role that is important.”