YOU will have to cast your minds back a long way to recall a performance as inept as Hartlepool United's first-half offering on Saturday.

At Bristol Rovers they looked anything but the team which has led the table for 99 per cent of the season.

Boss Mike Newell reckons they have played worse under his tenure. Rochdale last November perhaps, but that 4-0 reverse was more down to individual errors than a general malaise.

Granted they later came to life, sparked by the introduction of substitutes Kevin Henderson and Paul Smith, but once again nothing looked likely to happen for the Pool strikers.

And now all eyes are on Rushden tonight, who after cutting back a lead which was not so long ago at 14 points and is now six, entertain Rochdale in their game in hand on the leaders.

In years of old, performances as bad as this were the norm at Victoria Park, which is why Saturday's performance appeared so shocking. It was more of a 1983 run-out than a 2003 vintage.

(Remember the class of 1983? How about Paul Staff, Mike Fagan or John Langridge? Enough said.)

Pool have taken only five points from six games, netting just four times in the process. Pool's last away goal from a striker in open play was at Macclesfield on January 21.

Doesn't make good reading does it?

Promotion is in the bag, make no mistake about it Pool will be playing Division Two football next season.

But it's a piece of silverware which is the Holy Grail for supporters. And while they are so close, they know their team will never have a better chance of being crowned champions of Division Three.

The players' dejected reaction at the final whistle said it all.

They knew three points they should have been celebrating had been given away against the team with the worst home record in the division.

So now it's time for the manager to earn his corn.

It's been easy managing Pool so far for Newell. The team has picked itself, players have been bubbling and on top of their game. Five months into his stint and Newell has his first test.

The nervous natives are edgy.

"I'm not one for statistics - the only one that counts for me is that we are top of the league,'' he said. "We are six points clear of second place. We've played worse than we did on Saturday and we will come back from it.

"Just because we have been top of the league for a long time it doesn't mean we are complacent about things.

"We were just outfought, they were sharper and wanted to get to the ball quicker than us.

"And it's not down to pressure, you only have to look at them in training to know that. They are not worried about things, they are not panicking about it - they are a confident bunch. The lads are not carrying any pressure with them.''

Newell threatened to shake his team up after Tuesday's Wrexham defeat, but said: "I thought about it, but I didn't want to panic just because we have had a couple of bad results or one bad result. I think the lads have got themselves into a great position and sometimes it's not right to throw it away, they deserve the chance to stay there.

"Adam Boyd came on the bench for Gordon Watson because I just didn't feel it was right to take him with us.''

Pool might have been three down just 15 minutes in.

Keeper Anthony Williams looked nervous and edgy in his penalty area and when he left a cross into the danger area Mark Robinson pushed the ball off the line.

The keeper clawed out an effort from Adam Barrett which looked suspiciously behind the line after he had stood and watched a cross land in the penalty area, but there was nothing he could do about Graham Hyde's fine volley on seven minutes.

At the other end, Marcus Richardson gave a pitiful display.

He never looked like being the foil for Eifion Williams to get back on the goal trail and it was only when Kevin Henderson and Paul Smith came off the bench did Pool look anything like a decent team.

Smith twice went close with deep crosses, Graeme Lee saw keeper Scott Howie palm his shot wide and when Darrell Clarke beat him, defender Adam Barret was covering to clear off the line.

"We had the better of the second half, but we couldn't force it,'' added Newell. "In the first half they were better than us all over the pitch, picking up all the loose balls and winning the tackles.

"I told them to pick their game up and start passing the ball, dictating the game. We then had a go, but still couldn't get through.

"I think the fact that their keeper was named man-of-the-match said a lot, though we had plenty of possession we didn't force that many clear chances.

"We started to get the ball up front and hold it up better, but we couldn't play any worse in the second half.'

Read more about Hartlepool here.