Exeter City 1 Hartlepool United 2

HARTLEPOOL UNITED headed to Exeter without a manager after their gaffer quit. And with a temporary coach in charge, they returned from St James’ Park with a 2-1 win and clear message.

“This bus drives itself,’’ said Gordon Watson after Chris Turner walked out on Pools in 2002; Colin West led the side to victory that day.

This time, following Colin Cooper’s resignation, it was Sam Collins’ turn to oversee events: the results was the same, but does this bus drive itself?

The wheels have been falling off for a while, and the bus needs some repair. Collins has the steering wheel for now and it needs a strong hand to steer it. With Collins long part of the squad at Victoria Park, maybe it can drive itself.

More performances and results like this and Collins can’t fail his driving test. The planned short-term appointment of Graham Kavanagh now looks unlikely and unnecessary.

Cooper’s time in charge is unravelling by the day, as performances and outlook change.

Marlon Harewoood is out of the picture, Scott Flinders has the captaincy, Matthew Bates isn’t playing in the back four. Gone is the straight jacket that is a 4-4-2 formation in favour of a fluid 4-2-3-1. The squad travelled early Friday morning, training on arrival in the south west rather than training early morning at Victoria Park before heading south. In have come impressive youngsters Dan Jones and Lewis Hawkins, as well as Keiren Green and Connor Smith.

All change and all for the better.

“I’ve not slept well for a week as I’ve thought all week what I would want to hear from a manager as a player. I’ve played under a lot of managers and taken a lot from them all,’’ reflected Collins.

“I’ve thought not just about speaking to them, but when we train, how we travel, when we eat, everything goes through my mind.’’ Exeter went into this one on the back of four successive wins. It’s a big ask for a team to win five in a row in this division – especially against a team as vibrant as Pools were on Saturday.

But was it really only seven days previous that Pools were in such turmoil against Carlisle?

Enthusiasm is the watchword at Victoria Park now. Collins is full of it, so too his players at a ground where they have now lost only once in nine visits.

Hawkins has been in the Pools squad for a few seasons now without getting a chance. His performance at St James’ Park was first-class.

Behind him, Michael Duckworth again stood out and, on the opposite flank it didn’t look like Dan Jones was making his first start in the Football League. He hit the bar with a header and cracked a 25-yard shot towards the top corner in a lively start.

Bates started in midfield alongside Tommy Miller and, after a slow start, Bates grew into the game and the experience of the pair was a key aspect of the performance.

Ahead of them, Pools attacking four were vibrant.

Before this week, Hawkins’ main experience for Pools was a woeful 45 minutes as a substitute at Portsmouth last season.

He was a revelation on Saturday, taking up a roaming position on the right side and always looking to get ahead and at the home defence. He helped created both goals.

The first came when his slide-rule pass played in the advancing Michael Duckworth to clip a cross over for Michael Woods to get across his man and volley in.

Hawkins had an effort cleared off the line before he roamed into space in the area to link up with Charlie Wyke to slot in his fourth goal of the season.

“Everyone had a job to do and my job was to get this football team organised and start winning matches while looking after things. That was my intention,’’ admitted Collins.

“It’s strange, but we could have scored more than two. We hit the bar, had shots and ripped them open in the second half time and time again.

“The first goal was down to energy and that was something I had in my head when thinking about a team for Tuesday and Saturday. We need young lads, energy and players who want to play for this football club.

“If they want to play for my team, for however long, then that’s what they have to do.’’ All appeared lost seven days earlier, there will still be plenty of ups and downs to come in the coming weeks and months, and chairman Ken Hodcroft has the biggest and most important mangerial appointment in the club’s history to make – but Collins has given Pools a lift and a fresh appearance.

“We are off the bottom, which is so important for everyone connected with the club,’’ he said. “We can start climbing the table, no doubt about it and if we can play like we did we will.’’