Neale Cooper has asked his team to show their mental strength when they make the trip to face Leyton Orient at The Matchroom Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
The Pools boss was unhappy with the manner of defeat at Notts County in midweek and has demanded a vast improvement in performance when the players return to league action in the capital.
"We've got to stop gifting goals away - we've got to be better," Cooper told
Pools Player.
"They are at home and will be wanting to bounce back from their two defeats but hopefully we're going there with a real desire to do better after the disappointment of the other night.
"It's been a difficult few days, I'll be honest - but we need a reaction on Saturday. Whatever the scoreline, I want to see a Hartlepool team fighting for everything, defending as a unit and attacking as a unit.
"We want everything to be top dollar this weekend - because if we get that we can match any team in this division and I mean that.
"I know they can do it but they need to be mentally tough enough to say 'right, let's go and do it'."