IF EVER there’s a right time for Blyth Spartans to take on a Football League team, it could be argued that the time is now.

The Evo-Stik Premier League club with a fine FA Cup history is about to meet Hartlepool United, the team in dire straits at bottom of the Football League.

Spartans, national cup kings in 1977-8 as they reached the fifth round also made the third round in 2008-9 when they lost to Blackburn Rovers at Croft Park.

They head for Victoria Park on Friday, a game televised live on BBC Two. The cameras are there for a reason.

But boss Tom Wade, a wise owl of the North-East non league scene, won’t entertain talk of upsets, headlines or shocks. There remains a difference between the amateur and professional game, although on one-offs like this it’s not always overly evident.

“Hartlepool are struggling and I suppose you would want to play a team in their position,’’ admitted Wade. “If I was Paul Murray I would see this as a chance to get back on track. Any manager, when you go in a bad run, looks for the next win to kick you on.

“A win for them could start their season and they will be confident, it could be a massive game for the rest of season.

“We want to play someone going through a bad spell, we are going in a pretty good spell. We have only lost something like three in 14 games and most of those have been away. We won’t be fazed by the game, but we will be positive.’’

Pools’ last win came in the FA Cup, a steady 2-0 victory over East Thurrock United. Since then they have lost three times, the last two at Victoria Park, which isn’t the easiest to play football for Pools right now.

Wade, assistant at Spartans when Pools’ chief scout Paul Baker was manager,added: “We are massive underdogs. Hartlepool are struggling, but at a very good level – it’s not the Evo-Stik North. They have home advantage, big support, full-time footballers who train and recover every day,’’ he said.

“They are struggling, but they aren’t getting slaughtered. They have plenty of loan players, but we go there and give it a right go.

“To play at our level you need great technical ability which you need from your time at pro clubs. We’ve got players who were at Middlesborugh, Motherwell, Newcastle, Hartlepool – an abundance of players with a background in the pro game.

“At non-league level you have one training session a week. Get them in at half-six, turn them round and out at seven, get on the pitch and off the pitch and talk. We don’t have a lot time to work with them and our biggest training sessions are in games.

“Some lads been here a while and they know what we require. We play a certain shape, stick to our beliefs and know what we are about.

“The lads have all been rejected at some time and that’s why the dressing room is pretty tight. The difference in pro and amateur football doesn’t see a great deal of difference, it’s about someone taking a chance on you. ‘’

Blyth beat Altringham comprehensively in round one, a team from a division above. Wade and Co watched Warrington, a level below Spartans, beat Exeter on television in the last round.

He said: “It’s about desire and wanting to win the game. The Hartlepool pitch is very good, which suits us. We take heart from all non-league sides and we have embraced this game and the build-up for non league football, to help raise its profile.’’