POSTPONEMENTS over the festive period have meant Third Division clubs Hartlepool United and Darlington are faced with a fixture back-log over the coming months.

Pool have rearranged matches with Scunthorpe (January 29), Bristol Rovers (February 12) and Darlington (February 19). They also have to find a date for the Hull City clash.

As well as the derby clash, the Quakers are now playing Lincoln on January 29, Carlisle on February 5 and Cheltenham on March 12. On top of that they have to take on Peterborough in the FA Cup on January 15 following today's postponement.

The Football League have been pushing clubs to play the rearrangements at the earliest possible date, as the season finishes early because of the World Cup this summer.

Pool boss Chris Turner believes clubs in the lower leagues should have been considered a little more before League chiefs decided to arrange the last games of the season for April 20.

"It's ridiculous really," said Turner. "How many clubs in the Third Division are going to have players playing in the World Cup?

"And I also think it is ridiculous how we have been told to play matches on the first date available. It doesn't make sense for clubs in our League.

"We wanted to play the Bristol Rovers game in the same week as the Exeter match (April 20). That would have made sense for a club like us because we could have just stayed in that region. Instead of staying down there we have to make two trips now."

The Football League's head of communications, John Nagle, defended the decision to ensure all matches are played as soon as possible.

And he also indicated that the League feel they are right to keep all divisions in line with the same finishing date.

"We are conscious of the fact that we don't know what the weather will be like over the coming months - nobody does," said Nagle.

"That is the reason we are encouraging teams to play their postponed games at the earliest possible date.

"We also feel it's important that we keep the divisions to one entity because it's essential that all of them finish on the same date, rather than everybody finishing at different times."

Darlington boss Taylor, who knows his side face their own fixture backlog, is not too concerned when the matches are played.

But he does feel that matches these days are called off to easily.

Pool were scheduled to visit Feethams this afternoon but, due to Taylor's men progressing to the third round of the FA Cup, Turner's side will now travel in February.

And Taylor admits the level of matches being called off has shocked him. He said: "We used to play in this kind of weather all the time when I was playing, no problem.

"We'd wear leather studs but we wouldn't slide tackle, we'd just kick them instead!

"I've never known anything like it for games postponed but the backlog can be a good thing if you're winning and playing well.

"When that happens, you want to play as many games as possible and the games can't come quick enough.

"They'll bring the play-off matches forward too but it doesn't bother me, as long as we're in them!"

* Former Germany coach Berti Vogts is set for talks with the Scottish Football Association with a view to succeeding Craig Brown as national coach.

Vogts had been reported in a Kuwaiti newspaper as saying he had not spoken to the SFA.

But the 55-year-old has expressed his interest in taking over from Brown, who stepped down in October last year.

''My manager spoke to the Scottish federation, but I have to prepare the Kuwaiti team for the Gulf Cup,'' Vogts told Scotland Today.

''At the end of January I will be ready to speak to the Scottish federation, or maybe the SFA will come to see my manager in Switzerland, or he will go to Scotland. I need to wait to hear from the Scottish federation.

''The Scottish team has a lot of experience and a lot of good young players.

''The Scottish must now go for qualification for the European Championship in Portugal, and we will have to wait for the draw on January 25 in Porto.

''I am the manager of Kuwait, I was the manager in Germany and I am very interested in the job in Scotland.''

''Craig Brown is a good friend and I think he has a lot of good words for me.''

Vogts is a close friend of German legend Franz Beckenbauer and won the World Cup with him in 1974.

But the former Borussia Monchengladbach defender could not reproduce the Kaiser's results at international level.

Vogts stepped up to replace Beckenbauer as national coach after the World Cup win in Italia 90.

But he could do nothing to prevent Denmark winning the European Championship in 1992 and then missed out at the quarter-final stages of the World Cup in USA.

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