HARTLEPOOL United are struggling to contend with mounting injury problems but the manager has urged his team to end their season on a positive note on the day fans are celebrate the final away day.

As is the tradition on the final away outing, Pools fans don a themed fancy dress outfit with this years theme being the NHS. Doctors and nurses will file through the turnstiles at Glanford Park when Lee’s side take on already relegated Scunthorpe United.

But seven games without a win might not give supporters much cheer heading into their penultimate game of the season before they host Colchester United on the final day next Saturday.

That’s something that the manager needs to change as he told BBC Radio Tees Sport:“We said this a long time ago. For one reason or another, we are way off where we should be.”

Lee admitted that the fitness of the squad has taken it’s toll on recent form as he continued: “It’s been frustrating. I’ve never known so many injuries, people dropping out and they are back and forth. I think we’ve got 21 players in the squad which is a squad I’ve looked at going forward for next season for outfield players and we have just been decimated.

“It makes you sit back and think about the planning going forward for next year because I think I had 12 players on Tuesday. They came back in on Monday and on Tuesday I had 12 or 13 players fit and other people dropping out so it’s been frustrating.”

The Pools boss added: “I’m desperate for the lads to put a performance in especially in the next two games. The excitement with the fans doing the fancy dress. My son is going, he is dressed as a doctor so he wants to be part of that.

“I keep saying it as much as we want to say that we enjoy these games, lads have to work hard. They have to fight for every ball and they have to do that part of the game. If they do that then we’ll do alright.

“No matter what team I put out there or what team we have got available to put out there, it’s the least that I expect that they go out there and fight for every ball. We need to finish the season on some positivity.”