Hartlepool United manager Colin Cooper has claimed that the opening fixtures of the new season will indicate what his team is capable of achieving.

The League Two outfit face Rochdale and Southend United either side of a match against Championship side Nottingham Forest in the first round of the Capital One Cup.

The Hartlepool boss, who played for Forest between 1993 and 1998, has said that he is excited for the season to start.

"I think seeing those fixtures all laid out just builds the excitement and we just can't wait to get going," Cooper told Hartlepool's official website.

"I think the first week of the season, those first three games against Rochdale, Forest and Southend will go a long way to showing us where we stand.

"Things will be different to how they have been in the past at the club so that first seven days will give us a chance to see how we are going."

Cooper was appointed Hartlepool manager last month.