What Paul Hartley's key message is to Hartlepool United ahead of Colchester United trip

Pools picked up their first win of the campaign with Tuesday's 2-0 success over Harrogate Town in the Papa Johns Trophy thanks to Mikael Ndjoli’s brace.

But the key now for Pools is to be able to translate that performance back into the league, with Hartley’s side having taken just two points from their opening six games.

With the transfer window now shut, Hartley can begin to get settle down with what resources he has available to him as Pools look to try and climb the League Two table.

And that starts with a trip to Essex to take on a Colchester side who themselves have struggled at the beginning of the season, with Hartley challenging his players to capitalise on their winning feeling from midweek.

“That’s the key thing,” Hartley told The Mail.

“We put in a good performance, we were strong. You want to try and follow that up with another solid performance so that will be the message to the players.

“Can we follow up on the back of that result the other night?

“Its been tough. You cannot get away from that. It’s not been easy.

“But we’ll keep working and we’ll keep trying. We want to get it right here.

“We want to get a good team on the pitch and we know we’ve got the backing of the supporters. I’ve still got great faith in the players.

“We can get things together and once we get everybody together, once the window shuts, and if we can get everybody tight then we can go.”

Pools’ success over Harrogate was the first time they had won in 16 games across all competitions, dating back to March’s 3-2 win over Newport County at Rodney Parade.

And Hartley has revealed it has been up to him, at times, to maintain a positive mood around the place while they awaited their first win of the season.

“When you’re winning it’s great. Everybody is great, everybody is buoyant and in a good mood and there’s a confidence about the place,” said Hartley.

“When you’re losing it’s about trying to stay focused and keep things level.

“If I came in with my face tripping me then there’d be a real issue with the mood in the camp, with the players and the staff, so I’ve got to come in buoyant.

“I’m not always happy, that’s part and parcel, but as soon as I enter the building I have to come alive and be that one who tries to lift everybody.

“It doesn’t matter [what competition it is]. Sometimes if you’re not winning games the confidence drains out of everybody and that’s not just out of the players and the staff, that’s the whole club,” Hartley added to The Mail.

“So it’s about getting a result and then building on that.

“You want to try and stop the rot when you’re not winning games so that will be the key message. Once you win a game, can you win the next game?”