SO WHO is going to get the manager of the month award this time around? Chris Turner, Colin West or Mike Newell?

There's a choice of three managers, but there should be no doubt where the honour should be heading. The only sticking point is who should receive the gong.

Hartlepool United have been top of Division Three since September 14. Saturday's win over Kidderminster means they have won six and drawn one of their last seven outings, 19 points from a possible 21.

They are now ten points ahead of fourth spot, 11 in front of the last play-off spot. Not a bad run it's fair to say.

In November, it's three wins and a draw from four League games. But it's also three managers as well.

It started with Turner, his last game a November 1st goalless draw with York. Colin West assumed temporary command and enjoyed a win at Exeter and in came Newell, who has taken control of back-to-back League wins.

Now in recent months both Terry Dolan of York and Ian Britton of Kidderminster have been given the award ahead of Turner, with the Pool chief ignored.

This time out and Mick Tait could be in the running after turning around the fortunes of Darlington; York have taken ten points as well and Brian Talbot has ensured Rushden have continued hanging onto Pool's coat tails. But, of course, there is supposedly a downside to the award, the so-called curse.

The one which says all recipients of the award must lose their next game - and a few more at that too as Kidderminster have done in recent weeks.

Since claiming the accolade, Britton's team have been far from great. They've picked up just one point from nine, although they might have gone away on Saturday feeling a little unlucky after pushing Pool onto the back foot in the second-half.

Pool were two-up against some awful defending on Saturday and there only looked to be one way this game was going.

Then Sean Parrish chipped in just after the restart and the game was back on. Pool were on the back foot for a while, but thanks to some strong defending come 4.45pm the four-point advantage at the top was maintained.

"Really it could have been over at half-time,'' reflected Newell. "It should have been beyond them.

"It's pleasing to get off to such a good start and score two goals because sometimes you are looking around thinking 'where are the goals coming from?', but this team creates a lot of chances.

"I said to the players that I was happy, but I wasn't really satisfied with the way they played. As a player there I was never happy with my performances, there was always something extra I was looking for and I'm never one to get carried away with things.

"I'm happy with the result, I'm happy with the way we dug in and worked, but I'm not satisfied. It's now two League wins in a row - this is the bread and butter stuff.

"We've put the disappointment of Southend behind us and it's good we are going into a couple of weeks' break with a win behind us. If we hadn't won there is nothing worse and it could have been a long two weeks.

"We were flat after Tuesday, but it wasn't as though it was a really bad performance, it was down to the way the game ended with them scoring so late on.

"But we showed how we had got over it by scoring so early.''

It was Ritchie Humphreys who got Pool off to a flier. The ever-willing Marcus Richardson laid the ball of into his path and on went Humphreys, away from the defence and cracked in a low drive.

Fifteen minutes gone and it was two. This time Eifion Williams beat a poor attempt at an offside trap and squared for Mark Tinkler to net.

That's nine goals from midfield now for Tinkler, not a bad strike rate from 20 games. There were other chances as well: Williams denied by Stuart Brock on two occasions when a goal looked certain and Pool took the game to the visitors.

Drewe Broughton hit the post as the first-half ended, but at the time it looked like a token gesture. Two minutes after the break and it was a different story.

Sean Parrish looked up and chipped over Anthony Williams into the far corner of the net. Game on.

And from then on Kidderminster pushed for an equaliser, kept out by some solid Graeme Lee and Chris Westwood defending and some hard work from the rest of the team.