Butterworth is confident Pools can build on last season's 15th-place finish
Hartlepool United assistant manager Ian Butterworth believes gaining a League One play-off place is a serious ambition for the club this season.
Pools missed out on the play-offs following a promising start last season and Butterworth is confident the squad can improve on that showing this term.
"We would obviously like to do better than last year, and it's a lot of hard work," he told BBC Tees.
"Everybody wants to get into the play-offs, it's not an unrealistic aim."
League One will yet again be a tough division with teams such as Leeds United, Leicester City and Pools' opening-day opponents Colchester United.
With Pools gearing up for their second season in the third tier of the game, Butterworth feels the extra challenge of playing at stadiums such as Elland Road and the Walkers Stadium will be an incentive for the players.
"It's going to be as tough as it was last season. It will be difficult but we expect that," he said.
"Leeds and Leicester are big city clubs, they have bigger fanbases but that doesn't guarantee you success.
"If we're organised and we're fit, then that's the platform to build on.
"People like Scunthorpe a couple of years ago got out of this league and we've got to raise our game."
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