DANNY Wilson admitted there were no excuses as his side fell to away defeat number eight of the campaign, writes NICK LOUGHLIN.

It's all or nothing on the road for Hartlepool United this season; three wins outdone by eight defeats.

And, just like he has on plenty of other occasions of late, the Pools boss was looking on in horror as his side threw the game away from a good position.

It was the third time in four games away from Victoria Park Pools have led only to end up losing, and Wilson is sick of seeing the same mistakes prove costly.

"We went in front with a scrappy goal and should have been able to see the game out - but we have conceded more sloppy goals and it's down to our defending,'' he said of his back line, which has conceded 28 times in 21 games this season.

"Again we have given the game to the opposition and they haven't had to work hard to win it. It's two basic, elementary mistakes which have cost us.

"Okay we didn't offer much going forward. We scored a scrappy goal, but we would have taken that and taken the game 1- 0.

"But in both boxes again we didn't do enough. We have let ourselves down.

"At half-time we spoke exactly about what was going to happen.

We expected them to come at us and we had to stand up to it and smother it. Instead we conceded very early and then it gives the opposition a lift.'' He added: "We didn't press the ball high enough and we were left open and exposed. It was a good finish, but from our point of view it was a terrible goal to give away.

"They should have been stopped 30 or 40 seconds before then. For the second it was down to elementary defending, elementary, nothing else. Yes, it was a clear-cut penalty but on the halfway line we didn't go in tight enough. Do that and the situation won't develop.

"We are inconsistent and cannot turn one win into a run of wins. People think they only have to turn out to win a game because they played so well the game before - it's not like that.

"That's why we are in the middle of the table, because we are not consistent enough and if we continue to defend like that it won't be the top of the table we are looking at but the bottom.'' Wilson, who had his players in for training yesterday ahead of the Boxing Day sell-out with Leeds United at Victoria Park, added: "It was a poor first-half, but we can come here and be as crap as we want and still be good enough to see the game out.

"It wasn't the best conditions, but you aren't going to get it perfect all the time. There wasn't a lot of fast-flowing football out there, but you adapt and you defend and we didn't do that.

"There's no excuse, we were in front in a game which was dour and we should be good enough to win the game, but at the moment we aren't defending.

"For the equaliser we can see what is happening, but we haven't locked into our men.

They had free runs to come at us, it's very poor.

"Last week against Crewe we looked solid and tight and did all the right things and then a week later it doesn't happen."

Andy Monkhouse is likely to be out for up to four weeks after having his knee flushed out last Thursday.

Pools home game with Southend, due to be played on January 5, has been re-arranged for Tuesday, January 22.