VICTORIA PARK, Friday evening. Alan Murray, the former Hartlepool United manager, is at an event answering questions from supporters.

Asked what system he would play these days, after Murray’s Pools were a true 4-4-2 team, he replied it’s not about systems, it’s all about players.

Those in the team have to be smart enough to adapt and play a system which suits their talent.

Craig Harrison, the current Pools boss, was in the audience and listened intently to Murray’s words.

Hours later and Murray, who led Pools to promotion in 1991 and some good times on the back of that success, was proved right.

Starting with 4-4-2, switching to 4-1-4-1 and making three changes with half an hour to go, Pools flopped to a lifeless home defeat to Aldershot Town.

Supporters have been wanting Pools to play with two up front in recent weeks, claiming the 4-3-3 set-up is negative.

But, as Murray said the night before, systems can be rather irrelevant.

And they certainly are when players perform as poorly as those in a blue and white shirt on Saturday. There was a lack of drive, ambition, willingness and, in some cases, ability as Pools fell to home defeat number four of the season.

Harrison said, or rather insisted, last week that his side needed six points from back to back home games. After losing on Saturday, they now have to beat Halifax tomorrow night, and even victory would only make it five points from a possible 12 at Victoria Park.

Promotion teams don’t drop as many points at home, only those with aspirations of promotion.

Pools are only 14th in the National League table and while they have only lost two games in 14 in the division, they are still four points outside the top seven and nine off top spot.

There’s still plenty of points to play for, but more displays like this and the play-offs will always only be a hope.

It was 86 minutes before Pools got anything on target, a low cross from Kenton Richardson into keeper Lewis Ward, who was making only his second start. He could play another 200 games and not have an easier afternoon.

Pools didn’t manage a shot on target all day and had three off target. Excitement levels zero. The only shots came from the Shots.

Playing 4-4-2 saw Nicky Featherstone and Luke George paired in the middle. They are too similar, both spoilers than players. Neither will drive Pools forward, although late in the game it was the latter closing down the visiting defenders, pressing as they passed the ball around from the back.

Harrison’s planning raised the prospect of the visitors playing from the back and, after they took the lead, they did a lot of it in the second-half.

The opener came amid a tepid first-half came to an end. James Rowe crossed from the right, Bernard Mensah ran in at the far post to head in.

Both teams had second-half efforts ruled out for offside, Pools seeing Jonathan Franks break from deep flagged offside.

Franks sent a few crosses over which were easily cleared by the visiting defenders, their job made rather easy by Pools’ malaise.

Harrison admitted it wasn’t good enough, and as he had his players in for training and a warm-down yesterday, the video analysis won’t have been easy viewing.

“The formation was different, we looked for more openings at home and to take the game to them,’’ he reflected. “It didn’t work and there’s been times when we changed and it worked. It didn’t have the outcome we wanted it to, we had two up front, but were outnumbered in midfield a bit and we didn’t feed them enough like we could.

“I can’t single anyone out, we are all disappointed.

“First up we have to look at the game back again and analyse it without emotion and pick out the points that we should have done better with and look at why we didn’t do it as well.

“We will talk about it on Sunday in training and go again on Tuesday.’’

The formation had Nicky Deverdics playing on the wing, and since his shift from left-back to further forward, his output has diminished. He was more productive seeing the game unfold ahead of him and playing from deep.

But his track record shows what he is capable of and it is hoped a formation can be found to suit his ability.

But, as Murray said on Friday, it’s shouldn’t be about systems.