Cooper: We were too passive

Manager Colin Cooper felt Hartlepool showed Middlesbrough "too much respect" as the Championship side eased to a 2-0 pre-season win.

Pools offered little as an attacking threat against their north east neighbours in what was a lacklustre display. Trialist Jonathan Greening played the full 90 minutes and was one of few positives for Cooper, who told Pools Player: "I am disappointed if I'm honest really. "While the shape of the team was fine, I thought there were opportunities for us to put their players under a lot more pressure with some more verve and vigour. "We were a bit too passive for my liking for a lot of the game; I don't advocate going around kicking people but there were chances to get closer to them and make their jobs more difficult. "I'm not going to get too despondent over it though - I realise we have a lot of work to do but I just felt like we gave Middlesbrough too much respect, if that's the right word." Breaking news, transfer gossip, line ups and goal alerts from your football club - delivered direct to your mobile. Sign up for Sky Sports Alerts