RONNIE MOORE admitted his hand was forced by injury on Saturday as Hartlepool United got off to a winning start.

After playing a 3-5-2 formation throughout pre-season, Moore switched to 4-3-3 for the opener.

The fluent formation brought plenty of movement, but they were left exposed at the back on occasions as Morecambe pressed from wide.

“It’s a new look and there’s optimism here,’’ said Moore. “It’s good to reward everyone, last season is gone this is a new era.

“It’s hard when you bring ten players in and they’ve not all played, but a lot have been involved.

“We’ve coached them into 3-5-2, picked up knocks and ended up 4-3-3 and being ambitious and could they live with us?

“We were on edge a bit in and around the box, but they came to grips with it and we lost our shape a bit. We have work to do so next time we use it we all know and we only had 30 minutes on Friday to work on it.’’

Brad Walker (thigh), Matthew Bates (knee) and Trevor Carson (toe) were missing.

But Michael Woods made a fine return to the side. He broke a leg and dislocated an ankle in February, but was impressive in a three-man midfield, linking up well with the strikers.

Moore said: “Michael is a very clever footballer, Billy Paynter a clever striker and he knows when it’s coming. Woodsy, with his injury and how quick he’s come back has been a revelation and he will cause teams to top teams. If we played a Premier League side he has the vision and ability to make his mark.

“It’s a gift from the Gods, his own natural ability.

“It’s no good having someone up front who isn’t the brightest.’’

Carl Magnay sat in midfield behind Woods and Nicky Feathersone and, while he signed after a season at right-back with Grimsby, Moore was pleased with how he adapted to his new role.

“Carl can play left back, in the middle of a three, holding role and he is mobile, sees things, wins headers and it’s new for him,’’ he said.

“It’s not a position he’s played a lot, but the anchor man and has to learn when to sit and when to go it’s a good spot for him.’’

Tickets are on general sale for Saturday’s game at York from 10am today and Pools have around 1,100 of their 2,000 allocation remaining.