MARTIN Scott is confident his side will continue their improved form when they go to Chesterfield on Saturday.

Pool travel on the back of an impressive display at Charlton in the Carling Cup and two attractive League One performances against Blackpool and Swansea.

Scott's side pushed the Premiership side all the way on Tuesday before losing 3-1 at The Valley.

And the Pool boss is confident a rise up the league table is on the way.

"I think the ovation of the Charlton fans at the end tells the story of how well we played," Scott said. "Our display was a good one.

"Our fans will have seen the effort put in by the players and hopefully they can continue that on Saturday. We will shake this off now and focus on Chesterfield - hopefully we can go there and get the win."

And counterpart Alan Curbishley was quick to salute Pool's efforts.

''They did great for their club,'' declared Curbishley, whose decision to introduce Marcus Bent and Danny Murphy from the bench helped change the game. ''I hope now they can go on to better things in the league.''

Pool's reserve side drew 0-0 with Hull yesterday. Pool fielded first-teamers Ben Clark, Gavin Strachan and Lee Bullock but were unable to break down the visitors.

* Neale Cooper's return to Victoria Park with his Gillingham side has been postponed. Pool were due to face The Gills on Saturday, August 8, at noon, ahead of England's World Cup qualifier with Austria, but three of Cooper's squad have been called up for international duty and the Football League has agreed to the postponement. A new date has yet to be arranged.

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