Hartlepool United are in training today and tomorrow as they make final preparations for their biggest game of the season. 

Pools host Bromley in a National League play-off eliminator in front of a sell out crowd at Victoria Park for a 2:30pm. The winner will set up a semi final tie away to Stockport County. 

Dave Challinor will be fine tuning his tactics for the game and making sure his players are mentally ready for the run of play off games as Pools seek a return to the Football League. 

As part of his preparations, Challinor and his coaching staff will watch the other play-off eliminator between Notts County and Chesterfield on Saturday afternoon. 

The Pools boss said: “We’re football people. You like to watch football games. Even watching from a TV perspective, you’ll be able to feel the atmosphere and feel the tension that’s involved in it.

“We won’t tell the players what to do, ultimately they need to relax and prepared for Sunday.

“But I do think it would be a good process for maybe the ones that haven’t played in play-off games before.

“Just to see what it’s like and maybe get a feel of how it affects different things and then you can pick up something that might benefit you that will help us on Sunday and hopefully moving forward.”

Ahead of the tie, Challinor confirmed that he'll have a clean bill of health among his squad after Luke Armstrong missed last week's win over Weymouth through illness. 

“The lads were off Sunday and Monday but he was back in Tuesday as normal. No ill effects, he’ll be fine which is obviously a massive positive for us.

“We didn’t have huge concerns, we were hoping it was going to be a 24 or 48 thing and that’s turned out to be the case.

“We’re okay with lads to be fair. It’s been a tough long season and they’ve been at it for nearly a year now. We had a pre-season that stopped and the season got put back two or three months.

“We got most of our base fitness and then you have to keep it going.

“You’re bound to have some little niggles and some management issues.

“Now it’s about the games. Regardless of what they do through the week, it’s about being fit for the games at the weekend.

“They’re all desperate to play because they all know the importance of the game.