Cooper: Pools players doing themselves no favours

Hartlepool boss Neale Cooper told his players they are harming their own careers following Tuesday's defeat at Leyton Orient.

Pools have won only one of their 12 league matches this season and Ryan Brunt's solitary goal early in the second half at Brisbane Road condemned them to a seventh defeat to leave them second from bottom.
Under-fire Cooper, who failed to appear for his post-match press conference, told the club's official website: "I'm really upset. I've just sat and thought about things for a while. On Saturday there were lots of positives, we weren't the finished article, but I was really looking forward to the game (at Orient), but from the word go we just got battered.
"If it wasn't for (goalkeeper) Scott Flinders they could have scored more goals. I've told the lads in the changing rooms how lucky they are to have him playing behind them at the moment.
"We rode our luck a little bit and showed some good defending, but when we had a couple of opportunities at the other end we didn't take them.
"Overall it just wasn't good enough and I've asked a few of them what they're playing at and what they're doing for their own careers because we're not doing the basics right."