Head Coach Lee Clark has hailed his side’s “character and mentality” in Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Hebburn Town.

Pools claimed a fourth successive pre-season victory with goals from Luke Charman, Max Kouogun and Chris Popov – and Clark praised his side’s reaction to his half-time team talk.

He said: “It’s another win and we want that winning mentality.

“In the first half, we did some good things – and we did some not so good things.

“What I really liked about tonight was that me and the coaching staff asked for some things to be improved on at half time – and in the second half, the players were outstanding to a man to deliver that.

“What that showed me is that, not only do we have good, talented players, but we have a really good character and mentality in the group.

“Over the course of a long season, there are going to be spells where things don’t go your way – but when you can speak to the players and say what you’d like to be done better, and they respond like that, that’s great news for all.”

Pools’ three goals on the night takes their pre-season goal tally to 12 – and Clark praised his side’s cutting edge in attack.

“We’re getting a lot of different players on the scoresheet,” the Head Coach continued.

“We want to create numerous chances, and we’ve had other opportunities to score more.

“There’s lots of positives to take – but the biggest thing for me is the character of the players.

“I really enjoyed the game, to be honest.

“I wish Hebburn well for the rest of the season.

“They’ve looked after us really well tonight, so we wish them real success.”

For the first time this pre-season, Clark gave his side a full 90 minutes – a huge milestone the Lead Coach believes.

“That was the big thing for us tonight,” he explained.

“The only substitution was Corey McKeown, because he played 60 on Saturday – and we also wanted to give Joe [Aungiers] an opportunity.

“He had an excellent 10-to-15 minutes.

“It was great that the lads got their first 90 minutes in, so it means after Saturday, everyone would have had the same amount of minutes.”

Pools now turn their attention to their first of two home friendlies, as Clark’s side host Grimsby Town on Saturday – and the Head Coach is excited to step out at the Prestige Group Stadium for the first time.

He said: “I’m looking forward to it immensely.

“The excitement has been building and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the players and staff so far.

“To get back to our home with the refurbished pitch, which is looking fantastic, is great.

“It’s against a tough opponent, which is what we wanted in these last two games.

“We wanted to be really, really tested in different aspects to make sure we’re ready for the Barrow game.”