Pools swoop for defender Bjornsson

The 28-year-old, who can play in central defence or as a targetman, was coming to the end of his contract and moves to Victoria Park on a free transfer. Meanwhile, director of sport Chris Turner hailed the commitment and quality shown by his players in their 2-1 Carling Cup defeat by Burnley. The League One side took their top-flight opponents to extra time having been six minutes away from recording a famous victory after Adam Boyd had opened the scoring in the first half. Hartlepool have yet to win at home in three attempts this season but Turner said: "We probably created more chances than them, more goalmouth skirmishes. "It's a bit of a hard luck story but just the way the lads played is what I'm interested in and if they play like that in our division at home, not many teams will beat us here."