FOR Mike Newell the getting to know you period is over.

The Hartlepool United boss believes the manager-player relationship at Victoria Park is coming along quite nicely - and that can only be good news.

Newell took over at Pool on November 21 after which a sticky patch followed, before Pool produced their best display under their new boss when they beat promotion rivals Cambridge 3-0 on Saturday.

And now, with Carlisle to visit Victoria Park tomorrow, Pool have a great chance to extend their advantage at the top of the league.

"I said to the players on Saturday that there's a few of them coming out of their shell now,'' he admitted.

"There's been the little stand-off period which is natural when a new manager comes in and that's because they are not a bunch which is full of themselves.

"There's a few good characters in there. They have been a bit wary of me and whatever.

"Now I can get to know them as players as well as footballers which can only be a good thing for everyone.''

Loan signing Brian Barry-Murphy was last night recalled by Preston after spending almost two months on loan at Pool.

The left-back gave his best display for Pool on Saturday, but a string of suspensions and injuries mean Preston boss Craig Brown wants the defender back.

His recall means Mark Robinson will make his first start since the 0-0 draw with York back on November 2.

Newell watched tomorrow's opponents in last week's FA Cup replay with Scunthorpe and admitted: "New Year's Day football is something to look forward to.

"They are a committed team and what you see is what you get with them. We just have to try and carry on from what we did against Cambridge.''

* Tomorrow's game kicks-off at 1pm and Pool are expecting a bumper crowd, with supporters asked to buy their tickets in advance from the club shop which is open from 10am-5pm today and from 10am tomorrow.

* Division One leaders Portsmouth are hoping to begin 2003 where they left off in 2002 as they travel to Watford tomorrow.

Pompey go into January sitting on a four-point cushion after ending a sequence of four successive draws with a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

The club are delighted with their start to the season but assistant boss Jim Smith felt the victory made an important point to any critics.

He said: ''To go into the New Year on 58 points is wonderful and if someone had offered it to us before we had kicked a ball then we would have taken it, and so I suspect would the fans.

''We had nothing whatsoever to prove at Nottingham even though there were some starting to doubt us but it was nice to perform the way we did."

Read more about Hartlepool here.