CHRIS Turner last night saluted Hartlepool United's owners as he aims to keep his side on top of Division Three.

Aberdeen-based Increased Oil Recovery took over at Victoria Park five years ago from Harold Hornsey.

And in that time the club has moved from the lower reaches to the upper echelons of Division Three to the extent that Turner claimed Victoria Park was like a 'morgue' following last Saturday's home defeat to Rushden which prevented Pool from extending their lead at the top of the table.

Such thoughts were a million miles away when Turner took over in March 1999, but now Pool are among the favourites for the title.

Turner beamed: "I've nothing but praise for IOR. As a manager you ask for support from your board - especially in your first managerial post. But over the last three years, I've had nothing but support from the chairman, which is very reassuring for any manager - and I hope that they are reassured by the success we have had at the club in the last three years.

"Look at our gates, they gave gone from an average of about 1,800 to about 4,800 which is a massive increase and it's credit to the people of the town that they have come along.

"It helps us immensely when we can attract gates like that.

"IOR and the chairman don't go and look for publicity, they just get on the with the job. When it comes to signing players, it's not a case of me going to them with demands and asking for this or that; we sit down and talk about what is required and consider the financial side of things.

"I can't thank them enough for the working relationship we have and we have returned the support by bringing in better quality players and raising the profile and level of the club.

"We have a good team here now and we are confident of going away from home and coming back with a result every game.''

That away run without defeat stretches back to Kidderminster on March 2 - "and we should have won that one as well,'' said Turner - ten Division Three games.

Avoiding defeat today would mean a new club record, beating the landmark created during the unbeaten run of 21 games between December 2000 and March 2001.

"We lost at Kidderminster a long time back and even now Jan Molby can't believe he won it,'' reflected Turner. "We were one-up early on and somehow lost 3-2.

"When Jan was here at the start of the season with Hull he still mentioned it and still can't believe it! Hopefully that run can continue. But again, it's down to how professionally the club is ran.

"We travel away at the right times and stay in the best possible hotels the budget allows and that helps the players to prepare correctly.

"This is one of the most professionally run clubs outside of the Premier League and that is especially satisfying when you look at the current financial situation in the game.'' Turner is likely to change to his preferred three at the back line-up this afternoon in a bid to keep the run going and keep the shackles on Shrewsbury's Luke Rodgers.

The eight-goal frontman scored last season at Victoria Park and was then quizzed by police over allegations he assaulted Pool defender Chris Westwood as they left the ground.

"What's important now is how we react to losing last week,'' said Turner. "Of course it's nice to be top of the table, but at this stage of the season it's about getting into the top three places and establishing yourself for a push in February or March.

"Look at what Plymouth did last year - they stayed top for a long time and no-one could catch them.'' And Turner revealed: "I had a chat with Paul Sturrock after we played them last season about the systems they used. They went a long time picking nothing up away from home and then last season they won a lot of games 1-0 - they were very tight and gave nothing away.

"To get it right he tried everything - leaving late on a Friday night, leaving early on a Friday, changing the hotels and it never worked. Then he changed the system and started playing 4-5-1 away and then they couldn't lose.''

Turner this week bolstered his squad with the capture of Marcus Richardson after the big front-man's contract at Torquay expired. He said: "I've been after a big man for a long time. We've tried a few and we feel that Marcus has the potential to do very well for us.

"He showed a little of his ability in the reserves in midweek and now we want to nurture him to develop him in the right way.

"He will be on the bench on Saturday and gives us a different option if we need it.''

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