Stevenage head to resurgent bottom of the Sky Bet League Two outfit Hartlepool United on Saturday.

Despite their position in the standings, the Monkey Hangers are sixth in the form guide and gaining ground on the likes of Cheltenham Town and York City directly above them.

Former Tranmere Rovers boss Ronnie Moore is at the Hartlepool helm after joining the club in December and he has guided his side to three wins from their last three home matches.

Of the weekend’s long journey to the north east, Stevenage boss Graham Westley, who saw his side beat United 1-0 on the opening day of the season at the Lamex Stadium, said: “It’s never an easy job when you’re travelling those kind of distances to the Carlisles and the Hartlepools and the north west clubs.

“It adds another dimension to the job; you have got to plan and prepare your travel, plan and prepare your fuelling, you have got to get a lot right.

“You probably don’t travel in as greater number to those places so you are up against the odds when you go into those environments.

“You have got to get a lot right to play well, you have to get a lot right to play well and win and we’ve been putting our mind to the job of getting the best out of ourselves at the weekend right since the game finished the other night.”

For the trip, injury-hit Stevenage will be without Darius Charles who suffered a fractured leg in Tuesday night’s goalless draw with Bury, while Jon Ashton is a doubt after picking up an ankle injury in that game.

Dean Parrett, Jerome Okimo, David McAllister, Tom Pett, Adam Marriott, Calvin Zola, Roarie Deacon and Harry Worley are all likely to also still be out of contention due to injury.