UNDER-FIRE Chris Turner accepts that the supporters are far from united in their backing of him as manager – but he insists the club is on course for a respectable finish this season.

Tuesday’s home draw with Gillingham was watched by under 2,500 fans, Pools’ worst Victoria Park Football League crowd in ten years.

With an indifferent home record and entertainment scarce at times, the fans are voting with their feet.

With a tricky run of matches ahead – Pools face Norwich, Leeds and Huddersfield in their next three games – there is a danger of being dragged into the relegation dogfight.

“All I ask of the team is to go out and play well and they have played well in the last two or three games,’’ reflected Turner. “If things go against you, that’s life.

“People don’t like me, that’s life. They are the same people who used to cheer me – some people forget what I have done for this club.

“We are all working hard behind the scenes to try to get everything going.

“The 2,400 who turned up on Tuesday night I thought were fantastic. They didn’t boo when we went 1-0 down or boo at the end.

“They kept with the lads and the lads kept going and showed some spirit and from losing the game with ten minutes to go they got back into it and nearly won it.’’ Pools have won only twice in 12 games and went into Tuesday’s draw on the back of three successive reverses.

But Turner insists he has no qualms with the performance.

“I geed the players up in the dressing room afterwards because what more can you ask?’’ he said. “Any team that goes out there wants to win, the players, myself, Colin West, the crowd, and sometimes it just doesn’t happen.

“We might get lucky somewhere, win a game and then go on a run, that’s what we need to do.”

Pools’ previous home game to Tuesday brought a 5-0 thumping by MK Dons.

Turner added: “When you are in charge of a team there is always somebody else worse off than you. Look at the Bristol City manager, they lost 6-0 at home on Tuesday.

Gary Johnson would have felt the same as me after MK Dons.

“We are trying to attract players to the club but when you look at the statistics we are bottom of the league table crowd-wise and can only attract 2,400. We’ve got to thank IOR for keeping this club going.’’