SO goalkeepers don't make good managers do they?

Well Chris Turner is putting that old adage to bed as he takes his HartlepoolUnited side on a charge to the play-offs for the second season in succession.

As a result of Saturday's 2-1 win at Cheltenham, the former Sunderland and Man United stopper not only made it an almost unheard of seven wins in a row, but in equalling a long-standing club record eclipsed such managerial greats as Brian Clough and Cyril Knowles.

Only Gus McLean and his promotion-winning class of 1968 and Fred Westgarth's 1956 side have achieved such an emphatic run of victories.

Don't forget when Turner arrived almost two years ago, Pool were fast heading for the Nationwide Conference.

The biggest test of the season is to come tomorrow when Pool go to leaders Chesterfield - but they couldn't be going to Saltergate in any better frame of mind.

After a disjointed first-half show when they ell behind to Mark Yates' scrambled goal, Pool turned the game around after the players had a heated half-time break.

They were rewarded when Kevin Henderson netted goal number 11 of the season and ever-improving James Sharp headed in his first goal in professional football to close the gap on their seventh-placed opponents to just one point with a game in hand.

Steve Cotterill's side, Turner believes, could also be on their way to the play-offs and this win was more important in terms of taking points from their rivals as in equalling the record.

"This is a very difficult place to come and get a result,'' said Turner. "When we came here last season we weren't ready to beat a top six team - now we are equipped to be a top six side. We are a stronger team than this time last year, we have some excellent Third Division players and there has been one or two come in to strengthen us.

"At half-time we said that if we could work hard for 20 minutes it will open up and we would get enough chances - and it came early.

"We knew what we could come up against, they would get the ball in behind us and we defended superbly. They had one shot just past the post and Anhony Williams made a great save, but I thought we handled them well towards the end.

"For the first 25 minutes of the second half we were on top - they never put us under any pressure and we took the game to them. The travelling fans enjoyed it and I think they are starting to believe in us.''

That belief has arrived after a steady, if unspectacular, start to the season that saw Pool match last season's indifferent start. The difference this time around is that Turner was without key performers through injury.

He always told the fans to see what Pool could do when he had a full compliment of players fit and available - now look at the results.

"Now we have players fit and there is competition for places,'' added Turner. "We've got five players on the bench who can come on and do a good job if needed and who are desperate to play; at the start of the season we were scrathing around for players.

"I told Anthony Williams before the game that we needed an inspired performance from him, and he made two or three great saves and his handling was confident. Martin Holund is pushing him all the way and I have the best two keepers in the division at the club.''

It was thanks to Williams that Pool weren't more than one down at the break. The former Welsh under-21 international made a string of great saves when the home side broke down the Pool rearguard.

Cheltenham are a very difficult to play against closing down opponents quickly and not allowing time on the ball. They aren't bad going forward either, but on this occasion it was as much down to Pool's ability to give away possession as it was their ability to attack.

Pool gave the ball away more in the first 45 minutes than they have all season, but Williams produced stops from Hugh McAuley, Daryl Clare and Howells to keep them out.

He couldn't do anything about Yates' opener. McAuley's corner was headed back into the box and the skipper turned it in from six yards.

The leveller arrived thanks to a piece of class from Tommy Miller. The midfield ace might have been a little frustrated at his lack of possession or infulence on a difficult game, but he still had a massive hand in Henderson's goal.

A deft Miller backheel opened up space for Paul Stephenson and his slide-rule pass fed Henderson who wasn't going to miss the chance to close the scoring gap between him and Miller to two.

Stephenson set up Sharp's winner when his corner was duly returned to the left flank ad he found the unmarked defender in the area who gobbled up the chance.

Cheltenham threw four up front to try and claw their way back, introducing gangly striker Jason White, although his sole contribution was to rake his studs down Williams' thigh and leave the Pool hero with a flash of bloody cuts