WITH three games to come in the next week and five of their next six games in League Two against teams in the top seven, Hartlepool United are in for a testing time.

But, with confidence boosted by back to back wins at home and the squad freshened up by a number of loan signings, boss Ronnie Moore is relishing the job ahead.

Pools go to Mansfield tomorrow, with Moore and his squad lifted from last weekend’s 3-1 win over Leyton Orient.

He insisted: "We shouldn't fear anyone. Yes, show them respect but let's go and see what Mansfield are made of.

"The home results and form haven't been good, so it was nice to win in the cup. We were lucky against Cheltenham, but to get the league sorted out was the main thing.

"We've got to kick on now and look forward not back.

"We have a crucial, crucial week and if we can come out the other side with the number of points we want then it puts us in a great position.

"Mansfield is always a difficult place to go - they are sixth in the table.

"That's brilliant for the manager, last season Mansfield struggled a little bit but in his second season he has done a great job with them so it's going to be a tough game.’’

He added: "We are ten points off the drop and six points off the play-offs, so let's be positive and have a glass half-full and look towards the top end.

"It shows how tight the league is.

"I watched Plymouth at York and they are probably the best team I've seen, though I've not watched everyone.

"They looked decent and that's why they are probably top of the league, they have quality, they will be there or thereabouts in the top three.

"The rest? At this present time, anyone can beat anybody.’’

Meanwhile, Orient’s beaten players have spent the week in a hotel following defeat at Victoria Park – and Ronnie Moore thinks it’s “crackers”.

The Pools boss could not believe it when he learned how Orient’s owner Francesco Becchetti, who was at Victoria Park on Sunday and it is understood was in the visitors' dressing room before the game, had ordered manager Ian Hendon, his team, plus coaching staff, to head for the Marriott Hotel in Waltham Abbey on Sunday night.

The Italian businessman has allowed the Orient squad to visit family in their spare time but they are asked to return to the hotel. They have been travelling to their Chigwell training ground, which is only five minutes away, by coach.

Moore said: “It's nice for us to win the game, obviously not so nice for Leyton Orient, who have been locked up in a hotel, sounds crackers."

Orient boss Hendon can understand the decision, however strange it may seem.

He said: “I’ve just dug my way out, it’s taken me three days! But on a serious note, the results haven’t been what they could - and should - have been.

“We got back on the bus after the defeat to Hartlepool and the owner called me and said he thought it would be a good idea to take the boys away for a few days, and it happened that night.

“Everyone thought we’d been taken away and we couldn’t see our families, but that wasn’t the case.

“It’s literally ten minutes from the training ground, it’s allowed us a bit more time on the pitches together. It's not an army camp; there’s a gym and swimming pool at the hotel, so it hasn’t been a punishment.

“We’ve just stayed in a lovely hotel for a week and the lads are fine, they’re happy. They haven’t been under lock and key, they’ve been able to go home and then come back so we can sit down and eat together.

“It’s the Italian culture more than anything else and I think the lads have embraced it. They’re happy, they’re smiling and we’re now concentrated and looking forward to the game on Saturday against York.”