Hartlepool striker Richard Barker believes his team-mates will be glad to get back to playing football again after an intensive pre-season work-out.

Pools take on Greenock Morton on Tuesday night in their first warm-up game, and Barker told the Hartlepool Mail: "You can do as much track work as you want, but you get your fitness from playing football.

"We will all gladly take football matches over running tracks any day."

United have only been back in training for 10 days, but 33-year-old Barker can already see his side showing the benefits of manager Danny Wilson's fitness regime.

"Just about everyone has beaten their fitness results from last year and last year was an unbelievable record.

"Everyone has come back fitter and I don't know how they do it. Maybe I'm just getting a bit old."