Amond targets promotion with Hignett's Hartlepool United

The Irishman played a pivotal part in Grimsby Town’s promotion from the National League last season, and says there is no reason why he can’t achieve a second successive promotion in the North East.

And having netted his first goal for the club against Crewe Alexandra, the striker will be hoping he can help fire Pools up the table – starting with the visit of Notts County today.

Pools are still unbeaten after three games and, despite their being areas for improvement, Amond said remaining without defeat is a big positive.

Having pushed Preston North End all the way in the EFL Cup before fighting back against a much-fancied Crewe side in a 3-3 thriller in midweek, Pools have shown some early glimpses of promotion potential.

While there is still plenty of football left to be played this season, Amond says their early-season form is a good indicator.

“We’ve proven we can be a match for anyone in this league,” he said.

“Crewe are quite a fancied team this season and they played really well against us, so for us to score three goals against them shows where we are this year.

It’s hard to predict a favourite in League Two this season with a number of teams looking to mount promotion pushes.

And, should they reach the levels of consistency boss Craig Hignett craves, Amond believes there is no reason why Pools can’t climb towards the top.

“It shows we can be a force and in this league anybody can beat anyone at any stage,” he added.

“It’s all about consistency, and what we can take from the first three games is that we haven’t lost any of them.

“If we can iron out a few little things, you never know what can happen.”