IT was a job started by Chris Turner at 10.40pm on Tuesday, April 30, 2002, and completed by Mike Newell a little under a year later.

After Ritchie Humphreys' penalty crashed against the Cheltenham Town crossbar and consigned Pool to another campaign in Division Three, Turner came out smiling.

While Humphreys and the fans cried, Turner wasn't just putting on a brave outlook in the face of adversity, he knew what was to come 12 months on.

"Preparing for the new season started on Tuesday night. We have players here capable of playing in the Second Division and we will be playing in the Second Division within 12 months,'' he declared.

Brave words indeed, but words which were never likely to leave him with egg on his face.

Turner knew where he wanted to take Pool, into Division Two and, he hoped, beyond as well. He'd looked at the likes of Rotherham, Stockport and Crewe in recent years who made the step up from Three to One and saw no reason why Pool couldn't emulate them.

With the momentum he brought to the club, there's every chance he could have made it, and now it remains to be seen if that progress carries on or stands still.

Pool lost a little of that drive towards the end of the season, stuttering their way to promotion and missing out on the title when the blue and white ribbons were already tied on the trophy in March.

Perhaps it was the effects of a long season taking its physical toll. The players were back for pre-season training earlier than ever after a season which was extended thanks to the play-offs.

And remember this team had been playing to the maximum since October 2001. They had led the form tables consistently from the day they lost at Plymouth and were bottom of the table right up until eight weeks ago.

But the season ended on a high, thumping Shrewsbury and going so close in the last day title shoot out at Rushden and there is no reason why, with a little tweaking of the squad, Mike Newell and Kevin Sheedy won't ensure Pool thrive on a higher stage.

There's players with the class to make their mark and easily adapt to the step up - Chris Westwood, Ritchie Humphreys, Mark Tinkler to name but three, and encouragingly all are tied up on new, two-year contracts.

Last summer Turner didn't bring anyone in, he knew what this team was capable of. Now it's Newell's turn and expect some new faces this summer.

The fact that he is yet to agree terms - or perhaps even offer them - to Mark Robinson and Tommy Widdrington suggests a left back and a central midfielder are top of his list along with a striker to play alongside Eifion Williams, and a centre half to replace Graeme Lee when he walks out on a free.

Gordon Watson has departed, but he won't be missed. The supporters may shed a tear for his loss, but the players rocketed their way out of Division Three without his goals after his broken leg was the only sour note to the derby win at Victoria Park on September 14.

Watson's situation was one of biggest difficulties Newell had to endure. As soon as he started playing for the reserves, the fans wanted him in - Newell stuck to his guns and his belief that the striker was nowhere near match fitness was proved spot on.

The derby game was the highlight of the season for Pool fans, as they thumped Tommy Taylor's Darlington 4-1 with ease.

Ironically, the return game on March 1 was the start of Pool's downfall. As they left Feethams for the final time, the 2,000 supporters believed they were in an unassailable position.

Instead, 11 points from 33 led to Rushden overtaking the team who led the table for nine tenths of the campaign.

From the opening day of the season Pool set the pace, turning over Carlisle 3-1 and only a home slip-up to Macclesfield troubled them in the early days. The focus and determination were there in abundance; this was going to be Pool's year.

Yet throughout the campaign, Pool never rediscovered the football they played which took them to the play-offs the season before.

Some of the performances during the charge into the top seven were a million miles away from anything ever seen along Clarence Road.

This season had a more reserved touch to it. They had more ability than the rest of the division and they knew it, without thumping five, six or even seven goals every home game.

Against Swansea this season, they put four past one of the worst teams to visit in recent years and they should have been looking at double figures. Last season they probably would have.

Away form became a concern as the season went on. The eighth and last win came at Macclesfield on January 21.

From that game the away record read P9 W0 D4 L5 F5 A16 - and four points from 27 on the road is not good enough for Division Three, never mind a team aiming to mark it's mark in Division Two.

Heavy defeats suffered at Lincoln, Wrexham and Scunthorpe were so unlike Pool. Days of away thumpings were over, or so they appeared to be.

It was only in the latter stages of Turner's reign that Pool stuck to a 4-4-2 line up after years of playing with three at the back. Newell's only tactical change came in the second half at Scunthorpe on April 19 when he went with three up front.

With better strikers in opposition next season, it may be time to revert to three at the back, especially away from home.

Humphreys was a revelation all season, making the left wing role his own.

When Paul Smith was injured against the pub footballers of Theole in Holland during pre-season little did everyone realise how much it would affect his season.

The winger, with 33 assists the season before, had minimal impact as he battled to overcome knee trouble and a cut shin and was always a shade of the player everyone knew.

As the lights went out at Victoria Park during the home game with York on November 1, so did Turner's tenure.

He left for his dream job, managing Sheffield Wednesday.

On leaving Pool, the thought of a return next season must always have been on his mind - he knew Pool were going up a notch. His his new task, the impossible job, was to try and stop The Owls falling down one.

Now it's the first fixture everyone will look out for - what price Hillsborough on August 9?

Read more about Hartlepool here.