Michael Nelson is back with another entry to his online blog, exclusive to hartlepoolunited.co.uk

The defender covers a wide range of issues this week but if there's something he's missed then let him know!

You can contact Michael to ask a question or make a comment on his blog by clicking here now.

Another hard week in training so far?

"It's been a really hard week so far with a lot of work done on Monday and Tuesday to try and cut out the mistakes we've been making and improve defensively on Friday's display.

"I think when you look at the goals we conceded they could have been stopped on more than one occasion so it's not just individual errors to blame and we need to work on that.

"I'm sure with the work we have done this week already and the things we are still to do, we can improve at Northampton and start picking up the clean sheets we are looking for."

The trip to Northampton...

"It's a tough period with two away games for us but it's a great chance for us to put our hard work in to practice and improve on recent defensive performances. I think we only really played well for about half an hour against Swindon and that was after finding ourselves three goals down. This week we'll be looking to start solidly, take the lead ourselves and then from there stay in front."

Preparations for Friday...

"We'll be travelling down there on Friday morning and I think we'll be stopping at a hotel quite near to the ground for a pre-match meal. After that we will just chill out for a while before leaving for the game. The lads have done travelling like this before and we know what to do - and we'll all be hoping that Michael Mackay does not bring Spiderman again!

"I think with being in Hartlepool the majority of our away games are overnight stays, especially if they're on a Saturday afternoon. As I say though, the lads are used to a lot of travelling and we all have our own routines and we have the different things we do to get prepared for the game."

Eating the right things...

"I attended a Prince's Trust Healthy Eating presentation at Victoria Park on Tuesday and as part of it I explained a little bit about the types of food I eat and the other lads eat.

"At Hartlepool we're not really on a strict diet but if you didn't look after yourself and eat the right things you'd soon be found out as we are regularly weighed and have our body fat monitored.

"I think that if you don't prepare right then you'll only be letting yourself and your team-mates down and, as well as that, if you are not in the best shape then you're not going to be in the team!"

Gavin Strachan's BBC blog?

"I've read a few of them and I think he's doing really well so far, though he's been getting a bit of stick off a few people on the site! Hopefully it can be a long-term thing for Gav because he's obviously at that stage of his career where he's thinking about the future and he's got involved with a Media Training course.

"We've actually just had the PFA information this year about the coaching courses that are starting in December and I'm contemplating whether to enrol this year or wait a while. I know Joel Porter and Ritchie Humphreys are doing their coaching badges and are really enjoying working with the Centre of Excellence and it's something I'd like to do but it's just about picking the right time.

"In this day and age you need to have the qualifications - it's not like it has been in the past where it's about who you know, these days it's definitely more of what you know. I'm not sure where I'd like to take it, whether I'd like to coach or manage but I think that's something that will become clearer the more you get down the line."

Have you got any comments on this article or questions for Michael Nelson - click here to send us them and we'll pass them on to him.