John Carver (in charge tonight) said:

"We said on our return from Malaysia that it was important both sets of players got 90 minutes in these games with Hartlepool and Sheffield Wednesday.

"This game was a good work-out and a useful test for us. We knew Hartlepool would be up for it as it's a local derby after all, but the players applied themselves well and we got a very pleasing performance.

"We played some nice football and every goal had a bit of quality about it. No matter who the opposition is - if you play like that then you give yourself a chance of scoring goals.

"The most important thing for us is the Champions League qualifier, which is less than two weeks away. It's all about getting the players ready for that one.

"We're on target for where we want to be when the season starts. The Asia Cup was a great experience and from a fitness point of view I think we're ahead of where we were in the past two seasons.

"As long as we keep progressing down these lines then I think we'll be raring to go come the start of the season."

Alan Shearer commented:

"It's always nice to score a hat-trick in any game, though I'd like one at Leeds in our first league game if you offer me the chance of another one.

"We have to use games like the one at Hartlepool to get things right and to improve our fitness. We had the right attitude. We started the game well and we never took our foot off the pedal throughout.

"I tend to get my fitness in games like these and we're all getting there. We've been working hard and there have been no after-effects from playing in the Asia Cup.

"We've got a tough game on Tuesday against Bayern Munich. That will show us how far we've come so far in pre-season. But I think we're looking good and I'm looking forward to the new season."