THREE is the magic number. Or at least Craig Hignett hopes it is as he attempts to end Hartlepool United’s home hoodoo at the seventh time of asking this afternoon.

Pools entertain Leyton Orient looking to record their first home win of the season, with Hignett’s energetic front three likely to prove crucial to their prospects.

Having tinkered with a variety of different attacking formations in the early months of the campaign, Hignett appears to have settled on a system that sees Nathan Thomas and Lewis Alessandra flanking Padraig Amond.

Thomas is attracting covetous glances from across the Football League, and this week had a £1m price tag slapped on his head. Alessandra jointly tops the table for the most assists in League Two this season. Amond has scored five league goals already this term, and boasts three in his last three outings.

On paper, it is one of the most attractive strike forces in League Two, with Hignett having prioritised pace and mobility over some of the more traditional attacking qualities that can sometimes dominate managerial thinking in the lower tier. Hence the absence of Billy Paynter.

Pools’ club captain was expected to be the attacking linchpin at the start of the season, but he finds himself benched. An easy decision? Hardly. But evidence of Hignett’s hard-headed approach as he tackles his first managerial position.

“It is tough for Bill, and it is tough for me,” said Hignett. “He was the main man last year, and he is great around the dressing room. There is no doubt he is a good lad and a good pro.

“Podge (Amond) is among the goals, so Billy will have to be patient. He will get his chance this season. When he gets it, he has to give me a headache, he needs to make it tough.”

For now though, Amond remains the central attacker, even if the limelight is often stolen by Thomas. As ever, there will be a host of lower-league scouts at Victoria Park this afternoon, and their attention will be focused on Thomas, with the 22-year-old topping Pools’ scoring charts with six goals this term.

Throughout the summer, Thomas was linked with a move away from the Vic, and speculation will only increase as the opening of the January transfer window draws near.

Hignett accepts that, and doesn’t find it unwelcome. At some stage, there is every chance Thomas will move on. But when he does, it will be on Pools’ terms and for Pools’ price tag.

“We won’t let anyone go for peanuts,” said Hignett. “When you see Kemar Roofe go for £3m from Oxford United, or Callum O’Dowda was bought for £1.5m plus add-ons, and they both played in League Two, I can see a player like Nath going for seven figures.

“People are going to have to pay the going rate for our players. If any player leaves, the club will have to be rewarded for that. Any deal would have to be right for Hartlepool United.”

If he continues as he has done in the last few weeks, Alessandra could also find himself attracting some covetous glances come the turn of the year.

The 27-year-old is the right-hand prong of Pools’ attacking triumvirate, and while he freely admits he would prefer to be playing in a more central position, his effectiveness from the flank has been readily apparent as Pools have found the target in all bar one of their 13 league games.

“I’ve been a bit frustrated (playing out of position) at times,” said Alessandra. “Because I feel like you will see the best of me as a player up top.

“But I did come here as a versatile forward player, and that is what I have had to be. It doesn’t make me unhappy playing out wide – I will play anywhere this gaffer wants me to play.

“I will always do my best and, to be fair, I don’t think I have done too bad out on the right. If I’m in the team, I’m more than happy to be playing for Hartlepool.”