Agutter: 'We Go Into The Game With No Fear'

Sutton United manager Chris Agutter hailed the team's flawless start to the 2026/27 season but stressed the importance of sustained progress ahead of Saturday's match against Hartlepool United. The U's have secured three consecutive wins in all competitions-against Woking, Altrincham, and Leicester City Under-21s-without allowing a single goal. Agutter acknowledged the results but pointed to areas needing refinement, particularly in possession and attacking play.

"We’ve obviously won three games out of three, not conceding a goal," Agutter said. "In terms of the result, that’s as much as you can ask for. Performance-wise, again, like we’ve said previously, we’ve won three out of three, but performance-wise we’ve been short of our best."

The manager praised the team's defensive discipline, noting their ability to limit opposition chances, while emphasizing the need to build on recent improvements. "Defensively, we’ve been excellent. We’re not giving a lot away in terms of chances, and we can keep improving that, keep working hard on that. That’s going to be a real platform for us to have a successful season," he added.

Sutton’s six league points in 11 games this season contrast with last year’s slower start, but Agutter dismissed comparisons to the previous campaign. "We’re so focused on achieving what we’ve set out to achieve, we just know that there’s not a lot of room for error," he said. "We’ve set a benchmark based on what it’s going to take to be at the top end of the table."

Hartlepool, arriving with a new owner, manager, and squad additions, pose a formidable challenge. Agutter acknowledged their quality and unpredictability but insisted his side would approach the game without fear. "We’ve watched all of their games across pre-season and starting the season. They’ve got a lot of quality, they’ve got good variation with the way they play."

With Hartlepool’s form mirroring Sutton’s early-season success, Agutter focused on exploiting weaknesses. "If we deliver what we can deliver and we continue to improve from an attacking perspective, we keep producing the best bits of our defensive displays, then it’s going to give us a hell of a chance to make it nine points," he concluded.