ANTONY Sweeney hopes Hartlepool United can rediscover their early season home form - starting this weekend when high-flying Bromley are in town.

Pools won their first four games at the Suit Direct Stadium this season but have only been victorious in one of their last seven home outings, which has proved costly as John Askey's side slipped down the National League rankings.

Hartlepool brought a five-game winless streak to an end at York last week but could only follow that victory with a draw at rock bottom Kidderminster. Despite the midweek frustration, first team coach Sweeney says Pools will take the positives from the last week - but now need to get back on track at home.

"It's vitally important that improves," he told BBC Tees.

"We've had it in the past where it's been really important. It can be again but there needs to be something that triggers that, generally that's performances, get the fans engaged, make them louder and it makes it a more hostile place to come.

"If the players want the advantage of opposition teams and players feeling pressure, they need to perform to get the fans on side."

Sweeney added: "We're not stupid, we know we need a bit more. We were in a really difficult run of results and performances. We've stopped the rot of the defeats. We're at least two points if not four worse off than we possibly could be with a bit better quality and touch of luck, but that's where we are.

"We have a home game against a tough side who are doing very well, but it's an opportunity for us to perform well."

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Bromley head for Hartlepool third in the league and having lost only four times this season, with one of those defeats coming in midweek when they threw away a two-goal lead at home to Aldershot.

Sweeney said: "You can look at it two ways, they might be fired up with a point to prove, that's the mentality I'd have.

"But there might be players in there feeling a bit sorry for themselves. If that is the case we have to take advantage of that.

"It's a really difficult challenge. Andy Woodman has done a brilliant job. He's got a certain way of playing, it's difficult to play against. They have big strong physical players but they can also play as well. We're going to have to be at our best to get the result we want."