LAST Tuesday’s abysmal display against Gillingham, a team with one of the worst away records in the division, confirms for those who weren’t already aware that Pools status in League One is now in serious danger.

So Nick Loughlin and Chris Turner can stop banging on about unrewarded, excellent performances and how desperately unlucky we are not to be in the top six.

The manager now needs a serious plan aimed at taking 24 points from our remaining 18 games. There is little evidence that Mr Turner has had any meaningful plan to date. The time for excuses has gone this is now Turner’s team not one inherited from Danny Wilson (who seems to be doing rather better than we thought at Swindon!).

We could start by playing two strikers in home games.

Don’t forget we paid decent money for Adam Boyd and he is no doubt one of our highest wage earners. Let’s see him repay some of the fee, at least in home games.

There were plusses in the Gillingham game. Gamble looks a useful acquisition, Austin was outstanding, Collins and Liddle solid but too many players are just going through the motions (Monkhouse) or are simply not good enough to play at this level (Sweeney, Larkin and Hartley).

Turner’s penchant for blaming everyone else when things go wrong has now transmitted itself to the team where looking to blame others has become a major feature of Tony Sweeney’s and Andy Monkhouse’s game.

The time has come to stand up and be counted Mr Turner. Let’s drop a few of the complacent ones and give fringe players like McSweeney an Fredriksen a run, they can’t do any worse than the current incumbents.

Peter Wilknson, Barnard Castle