Harrogate Town's players are 'hurting' and desperate to 'prove a point' against Hartlepool United, says Jack Muldoon

A 10-match winless run and a return of one solitary point from the last 24 on offer have left the Sulphurites hovering just above the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash with fellow strugglers Hartlepool United.

Even though the 2022/23 campaign is just 12 games old, this fixture is already a ‘must-win’ in the eyes of many, and the significance of the match is not lost on a Town squad who are “hurting” at this moment in time and desperate to “prove a point”.

"It’s a six-pointer, isn’t it,” the versatile 33-year-old forward said. "It’s a big game and I think that the fact it’s almost a derby and it’s a lunch-time kick-off at home just adds to it. And the lads are ready for it as well, we’re looking forward to it.

"Lads in the dressing room are champing at the bit after Colchester, I think there is 100 percent a realisation that things have to change, so we’ve got to prove a point.

"It’s hard at the minute and I can see in the faces of the lads who I’ve known for a while now that they are hurting. I know that they are fuming with the way things are going, the run we’ve been on.

"Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone, I don’t know what every player is thinking, but none of us are in this to lose. Nobody in the squad is okay with losing games, you shouldn’t even be in football if you are.”

Asked what Town’s players can do to get themselves out of their current predicament, Muldoon added: "A lot of us lads haven’t been in a sticky situation like this before, so it’s been quite hard to digest for some.

"You try to block out the noise, but you see comments from supporters and the pressure does start building.

"We’re just trying to concentrate on doing our jobs, although that’s becoming harder to do the longer we go without a win.

"But, I think that’s the key, if everyone just makes sure that they do their own job properly instead of worrying about anyone else, then it should all come together and we should start picking up results.

"And, I know it’s cliche to say this, but it is so important that we stick together.”

Town’s plight went from bad to worse when they lost 2-1 to Colchester last time out, but as bad as that performance might have been, Muldoon is confident that a long-overdue victory is coming.

"I think it’s only a matter of time before we get a result and, if you look at the division, there’s a number of teams down there, so a couple of wins and you’re really climbing the table,” he continued.

“It’s not like we’ve been getting beaten 5-0 every week, it’s been the odd goal in a lot of games, however the big problem is that we are just not scoring enough.

"It’s annoying. You look at the Bradford match, we should have won that one, or at the very least taken something from it because we played good football, we were probing away and then someone makes a mistake and they go 2-1 up.

"It’s a tough place to be in and can be hard to get out of when confidence is low, you can kind of just feel that in the air.

"We know that we need to perform better, you can’t really say that anyone has stood out consistently. But, I can’t really say too much about anyone else because I’ve not been playing well myself and I need to be performing for the team.”

Saturday’s clash between 22nd-placed Town and 21st-placed Hartlepool kicks-off at the EnviroVent Stadium at 12.30pm.