HARTLEPOOL United chief Chris Turner is refusing to give up the promotion ghost.

Turner yesterday took his fourth-placed side to Plymouth for today's noon encounter aiming to close the ten-point deficit on Brighton and Cardiff, the two sides immediately above Pool in the promotion race.

Pool drew 2-2 with Brighton at Victoria Park last Saturday, but despite playing their part in a fine advert for Third Division football, Turner knows that with just nine games to go his side needed to triumph against their rivals if they are to make inroads on the top three.

"It is going to be very, very hard to get there and overtake the top three,'' admitted Turner. "But for me there is still the possibility of fourth place being enough to get promotion this season because of what has happened with Chesterfield.

"We have a nice seven or eight point cushion between ourselves and the teams outside the play-off zone, but we know that w need to get another four or five wins from the remaining games to get in there.

"If we are going to be in the play-offs I want to be in there emphatically. Last season it went down to the last game of the season and we needed other results to go in our favour. This time we want to be in there with two or three games to go.''

Pool have been in the play-off zone since mid-January thanks to a club-record 18 unbeaten run that stretches back to November hen they went down 3-2 to Cardiff at Ninian Park.

They have held fourth spot since winning at Macclesfield on February 17 and Turner feels his side is now finally getting the accolades they deserve.

"Two of the best teams in the division drew last week,'' said Turner. "The standard of the teams and the quality of the game was excellent. I was speaking to two people who normally watch Premiership football every week - whose opinions I respect - who were at the game and they said it was as good a game of football as anything they have seen this season.

"People are starting to take notice of what is happening here and hopefully we can take it on in the last nine games and get something from the season. The crowds and attendances home and away are improving all the time and you can see the confidence from the crowd reaches the players as well.

"Players have come to the forefront this season and made a real name for themselves.''

Turner has already labelled Tommy Miller as the best attacking midfielder outside of the top flight and he added: "Kevin Henderson is at the top of the scoring charts in the division, Tommy Miller has had another great goalscoring year and James Sharp has come on leaps and bounds - and that is even without Graeme Lee who hasn't kicked a ball this season.'

Turner hopes Lee, who has been sidelined all season with knee trouble that led to cruciate ligament surgery last October, is lined up to play in Wednesday's reserve game with Bury at Victoria Park.

With Lee stepping up his return, knee victim Paul Arnison pencilled in to make his return in the friendly with Norwegian's Brann Bergen a week on Monday and Gary Strodder still to return, the Pool chief endured a quiet transfer deadline day on Thursday.

Turner, instead, signed three players last week and one of his new recruits, Jermaine Easter, could be on the bench this afternoon. Mark Tinkler is suspended and Ian Clark should fill in for the former Leeds midfielder

The traditional transfer deadline day scramble is approaching the end of its life as changes to the transfer system are enforced and Turner said: "To be honest, I think the days of managers racing around and signing half a dozen players on deadline day are gone.

"Unless you are desperate to get someone in because you are in a scrap at the bottom of the table and looking to improve things then very little is going to happen.

"With the Bosman ruling coming in and the uncertainty over the transfer system managers are biding their time and waiting to see what is happening in the summer. Times when someone would sign a 33-year-old for a last few games of the season and offer a contract going through the next season as well are behind us.

"We signed three players last week and now we have cover for every position across the board - we couldn't have any more cover in as many positions as we have now.

"The players we have here have done very well over the last couple of months and now they have the chance to go for some success. We have nine games to go and we are not panicking.''

Plymouth were hoping to sign Newcastle forward James Coppinger on loan on deadline day, but the deal collapsed.

The former Darlington trainee impressed on loan at Pool at the end f last season.

l Oxford could be left homeless next season after club owner Firoz Kassam threatened to quit the Second Division strugglers because of a land dispute on the site of their new Minchery Farm stadium.