NEIL AUSTIN thinks Hartlepool United can climb up the League Two table after playing with freedom following a frustrating start to the season.

Pools claimed a first home win of the campaign when they turned on the style to surprise Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, easing concerns among fans particularly in the aftermath of Luke James’ departure to Peterborough United.

Colin Cooper, the Hartlepool boss, mixed things up a bit against the Shrews by reverting to a more orthodox system and that reaped the rewards on this occasion to climb up to 18th ahead of Tranmere’s visit this weekend.

And Austin, the experienced defender, believes Hartlepool can continue their resurgence after winning two of their last three games if they display a similar approach.

He said: “The manager said beforehand when we have the ball go and express ourselves and we did that - you could see it in the second goal.

“It is about setting ourselves high standards and there is no point going on to lose the next two or three games after winning last Saturday. We have got to put in a similar performance and we are more than capable of doing that.”

Cooper will assess right-backs Stuart Parnaby and Michael Duckworth again before the visit of Tranmere, with both players suffering hamstring troubles recently.

The boss will hope not to have to reshuffle his pack again, although Jordan Richards is on stand-by to play there. Austin was impressed with the defensive performance from the team – and he thinks it can continue.

He said: “We were great at keeping the back door shut, we kept our shape well and everybody was communicating. That gave us the chance to get at them on the counter-attack. That bodes well for the future.”