Bees Looking To Pool Off Ultimate Coupon Buster!

There’s Hartlepool United, the title chasers who have a better home record than anyone else in the country right now.

Even all conquering Manchester City aren’t as good as Dave Challinor’s side on their own patch over the past three months.

Then there’s Barnet, defeated nine times in their last ten and so shabby at King’s Lynn last time out that manager Tim Flowers said he had seen better performances from children.

Seeking some kind of inspiration from somewhere, few would be brave enough to put money on the Bees’ sticking a pin in their recovery roadmap at Victoria Park this weekend.

They just can’t, can they?

Well Barnet boss Flowers knows a thing or two about sending shockwaves through the game.

Only Leicester City have created a bigger disturbance to the Premier League hierarchy than when the goalkeeper’s Blackburn Rovers stunned us all in 1995.

He’ll need plenty more of that type of spirit on Saturday but with the BT Sport cameras in position, a coupon buster just can’t be ruled out.

He will be hoping his players heed his words after a serious dressing down on Tuesday night.

Flowers fumed: “That was like watching children play, it’s nuts and bolts defending. I can’t keep putting things on in training anymore and coach these simple restarts. We’re in the game at 2-1 and concede a goal like that. It’s pathetic.

“They could’ve scored more than five, make no mistake. The fourth goal we concede a free-kick and we’re too busy complaining and moaning. It’s absolutely pathetic.

“The bottom line is, when you look in the mirror, you know deep down whether you’ve been good enough and no one can say that they’ve been good enough.

“You can try and kid a kidder but you can’t hide from yourself. We didn’t show enough pride and just folded.”

They won’t need telling that Hartlepool have won seven home games in a row.

Few will give Barnet a prayer this weekend, but Pools manager Dave Challinor refuses to think it’s a home banker.

Following the news that government restrictions could be lifted in the months ahead, he is wondering just how good things could be when the fans are allowed back in.

“If we can keep doing what we’re doing and get ourselves in the play-offs come the back end of the season then we could have some really exciting games to look forward to,” he told the Hartlepool Mail.

"There would be no better advantage for us than getting a home game and having 4,000 Poolies there really behind us and pushing the players on.

“It would be no less than the players deserve because we’ve brought a lot of them in here and sold the club in terms of they’ll have the chance to play in front of an unbelievable fan base.”

Challinor took charge of the club for the 50th time on Tuesday and he called it a “strange one”.

Hartlepool’s away form has undermined their title challenge so far.

Only one win in seven on the road, their lack of goalscoring bite on their travels was again evident at Wrexham.

The 0-0 draw means they now trail the leaders by seven points and there can be no slip ups on Saturday if they are serious about automatic promotion, their supporters will know.

“The players did so well and didn’t get what they deserved,” he said after the Racecourse stalemate.

“We have to keep plugging away and we need to keep doing what we’re doing.

“Our home form is fantastic but we have to go out there and earn the right. We need to build on what we’ve been doing at home.”

PICS: BARNET FC & HARTLEPOOL UNITED FC