Hartlepool United play better against the good football sides says midfielder

Pools travel to Gigg Lane to take on a Bury side eighth in Sky Bet League Two, just one spot outside of the play-off spaces.

Bury boss David Flitcroft likes his side to play football, despite a poor pitch at Gigg Lane and Woods is hoping his teammates will benefit from a more open game, rather than the physical route one style of Stevenage.

Ronnie Moore’s side were bullied out of the match at Victoria Park last weekend, with Pools beaten 3-1.

Pools had gone into that game hoping for their fourth consecutive win on home soil and Woods knows that form will be crucial if they are to stay in the Football League past May.

Woods told SportMail: “You speak to a lot of people and they said Northampton Town were the team to beat, but we did that.

“I think both Northampton and Plymouth were strong teams and better than Stevenage, which made that defeat even more disappointing.

“We need to work on getting the ball down and passing it more.

“The home form has to improve further if we want to stay up and we need to get something from Bury tomorrow.

“They are a good side and get the ball down and play.

“The pitch is difficult there – even worse than ours – but they still try to play football.

“The teams that have come to the Vic recently, the Oxfords, Plymouth, Northampton, have tried to play against us and we have done okay.

“It is the physical teams, that put us under pressure, where we have struggled.

“Mansfield and Cambridge still have to come here and if we can’t compete with the physical challenge, then it is going to be a struggle.”