Full-time: Burton Albion 4 Hartlepool Utd 0

HARTLEPOOL United left Burton well beaten, heads bowed after a pitiful performance, just about clinging onto their Football League status.

It happened last season, it’s now happened this.

After the thumping in April they only had three games of the campaign left, yet managed to stay up.

This time there’s 26 games to go, but avoiding relegation is looking an impossible task.

Pools have lost 14 games from 20, won only three, scored a mere 14 and have a goal difference of minus 24. One point from the last 24 available is their sorry tally.

Some of their defending on Saturday was an absolute shambles, proving even more inept than their embarrassing efforts of late.

Last time Pools were in such a precarious position was in 1989. After 19 games they had nine points, two wins and three draws.

In came Cyril Knowles, who transformed the players and turned them within months into a promotion-winning side.

That team had characters within the ranks, players who were struggling but had fight and honesty within. Some had genuine ability hidden away. You will struggle to find those characteristics in this squad, it’s among the worst ever.

A new manager will be appointed early this week. Ronnie Moore was at the game to see what he might be letting himself in for. He could be forgiven for withdrawing his application this morning.

However, managers like a challenge and there’s no bigger contest in football. At least, if he gets the job, Moore has watched Pools at their very defensive worst.

Confidence is a major issue. When they concede, they concede again. In each of their last three League Two games they have shipped two goals in up to three minutes.

On Saturday they conceded on 45 minutes and, even though they had the half-time break in between, they managed to give another away within 25 seconds of the second half.

“Mental toughness comes from within, you can’t teach it. It comes from how you are as a player,’’ reflected caretaker boss Sam Collins.

“When I did this job before I found the most frustrating thing was not being out there yourself. But it’s about games like this when it’s not going your own way. When you come out with a result and performance in this situation it feels a lot better than winning comfortably.’’

Until the first goal, there wasn’t a lot in it. Pools were firm and organised. The work Collins has done with his players over the last week was paying off.

Then Matthew Bates made his first mistake. Jordan Richards was under the ball to head it away, Bates thought he would do it, clambered over the right-back, lost the header, lost the ball, lost his footing. It fell for Alex MacDonald and, with Bates stumbling, the wide man curled in well from distance.

Pools then gifted the second. A long ball saw Neil Austin beaten by striker Jacob Blyth, MacDonald latched onto the nod down, Bates and Richards stood still, rooted to the spot, and he finished a crisp second.

Now it became a free for all. Roll up, roll up and have a free go at the Hartlepool United defence.

Any ball pitched in towards the penalty area caused chaos.

Scott Flinders saved well from a Darragh Lenihan shot and, from the corner Shane Candsell-Sherriff’s clipped header made it three.

Number four was as soft as they come as the Brewers passed into feet, held the ball up, worked an opening and Stuart Beavon ran around the blue and white statues to score.

Collins added: “We were fine, comfortable and they had one shot prior to the goal. What we worked on during the week was good. It was what we asked.

“There is a fragility because confidence is low. We have tried to get what happened previously out of out systems as quickly as possible, giving them some confidence in the way we work with the players.

“But we aren’t scoring many goals, so giving one away makes it hard. Now we try and lift them again.

“It’s a mental thing, but we need to be mentally strong, we need men, we need characters. I thought young Kieron Green did well. He comes on for 25 minutes and gets about people, makes tackles. He come to me after the game and said sorry for tackling someone – I told him not to be stupid as we need another nine or ten who want to do that.

“Second-half wasn’t good enough, there’s enough experience on the pitch, young and old, to do a job. This club pays people to deal with those situations – if you are a defender you get paid to do that, simple as that.’’