MANAGER of the month Chris Turner last night reflected on a confidence-boosting week and declared: "The hard work is still to come.''

In the week he signed a new contact at Victoria Park and was named Division Three manager of the month as Pool make their push for the play-offs on the back of an eight-game unbeaten League run, Turner takes his on-song side to Shrewsbury.

Two seasons ago, a win at Gay Meadow was the turning point in Pool's future.

Defeat and Pool, with rookie manager Turner at the helm, would have been four points adrift at the bottom of the table with one foot in the Nationwide Conference.

Paul Baker's late effort gave Pool a lifeline they grasped and since then things have been on an upward spiral.

Turner steered Pool to the play-offs last season and as he approaches two years in charge at Victoria Park, the former Sunderland crowd favourite admitted: "Since that night - Denny Ingram's missed penalty and Baker scoring from the rebound - things have gone well.

"We've been in the play-offs and now we are looking ahead with optimism, but we have a long way to go.

"I have enjoyed every minute of my time here, I've a very good relationship with the owners and chairman and they have backed me all the way.

"I could have stayed at Wolves and been there for 20 years. I'd had some success there with the youth team and had everything I wanted. But I wanted to progress and coming here was a bit of a gamble.

"I took over a team that was struggling and players that were not used to success. There was only one real way it could go for me and that was to improve things.

"I knew the history of the club and knew that managers here only lasted for 18 months or a couple of years at the most.

"Apart from 1991 this club has not had any sustained success for a long, long time. Now we are not looking up at teams from the bottom.''

Turner, however, is changing that ideal and this week signed an extended deal that runs until next summer before moving on to a rolling contract that keeps him at Pool as long as both manager and club are happy.

"I went to Leyton Orient and they had to sell all their best players and everything went wrong when the chairman lost all his money. I knew what the sharp end of this division was all about.

"But I came here and looked at the stability of the club. During the interviews I met Ken Hodcroft and the board and there was a hunger for success.

"I am loyal to IOR and I am grateful to them because they gave me an opportunity in management. Maybe more chairman should give people a chance rather than going for the obvious - a big name doesn't necessarily mean a good manager.

"We have had a steady improvement here and now we have a squad that can compete and if we don't get out of this division this season, then we will certainly make a push next season.

"Tony Cottee said that last week and Ian Banks phoned from Chesterfield this week and said the same sort of thing. Cardiff directors did as well when we went there, so we are changing opinions about this club and moving in the right direction.

"We are in the top seven and have to cement that place and then look at challenging for that top-three spot in the last few games. We have one or two games at home against the other teams at the top - Cardiff, Brighton and Blackpool - and they could be massive games.

"Last year we made the play-offs and that was against most expectations. We played Darlington, which was unfortunate. I'm sure that if we had been playing Peterborough or Barnet we would have met Darlington in the final.''

Pool fell to a 3-1 defeat against Shrewsbury back in September and Turner admitted: "We were awful that day, we tried to play too much football from the back and got caught out.

"There's talk of a jinx on the manager of the month, but it's nothing to do with the manager - if his team loses it is because they are not good enough on the day.''

Tickets go on sale on Monday to season ticket holders for the derby at Darlington on March 10.

Pool have been allocated 2,000 South Terrace tickets and season ticket holders must produce voucher D at the club shop.

Tickets go on general sale - again one per person - from Monday, February 12.

Read more news from Pool.