HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner is confident his side will benefit from their pre-season tour to Norway.

Pool head for Bergen tonight for a double header with Fana tomorrow and Brann Bergen on Monday.

And the Pool boss, encouraged by a 4-0 win over Billingham Town on Wednesday, believes the mini-tour will help his assault on Division Three that starts with a home game with Mansfield on August 11.

Pool visited Norway 12 months ago, but suffered a spate of injuries during the gruelling week-long trip that saw them play three games in five days.

They lost to Fana 3-0 last time around and are likely to be reunited tomorrow with former defender Rune Vindheim who is playing for the Second Division outfit and Tim Sperrevik, the Pool striker sent back to Norway for the summer.

Turner said: "This time we will be better prepared. Last year, the trip was maybe a couple of days and a game too many. But we have cut this tour down a little bit and I'm sure it will benefit the players.

"It is about getting away from the normal environment and doing something different. We have a couple of games, but it is important to help generate spirit among the lads.

"A trip like this will be great for the new lads to help them blend in.

"We have two games that the results are immaterial, but the games are important to us and of course we want to win them, but I'm looking at the wider picture.

"We just need to give them all games and mould them into a team by the start of the season.

"Norway will be a good team-building exercise.''

New boys Ritchie Humphries, Jon Bass, Tommy Widdrington and Darrell Clarke all made their bows at Billingham and Turner added: "We could have scored four or five more the other night, but these games are all about getting a little bit of sharpness and for the lads to see what the new players can do and for them to see how the rest of the lads play and what they can do.

"The new boys showed some good touches - showed they can play, that they're good footballers.

"They all had 45 minutes, Chris Westwood had 90 and Tommy Widdrington 70, but the only one missing was James Sharp, he's suffering from sore shins.''

Turner has a strict fitness regime at Victoria Park and the manager is satisfied with the way his players returned for pre-season training.

"Fitness wise, the lads are at the same levels they were last December - that shows how fit they are.''

New recruit Clarke is tipped to fill the attacking midfield void left by the departure of Tommy Miller to Ipswich.

The capture from Mansfield impressed at Billingham and his former Field Mill teammate Anth Lormor is confident he is up to the task.

Lormor made the move from Mansfield 12 months ahead of Clarke and admitted: "He's a really good lad, I got on well with him at Mansfield.

"He got in touch with me when he was thinking about moving to ask about the club and how I found it.

"I only hope he can be as impressed with things as I am.

"I think he is quite similar to Tommy in the way he bombs forward and gets goals. I think people will naturally liken him to Tommy, but Tommy is a different class.

"He has been at Mansfield since he was about 12 and got into the team when he was 16 or 17. He's played in this division all his career so he knows all about this level of football.''

Clarke admitted he needed to move from his home-town club after going a bit 'stale' and Lormor admitted: "It can happen when you are at the same club for a long time.

"We've signed a few players this summer and we have all been impressed with them.''

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