THEY named a stand at Victoria Park after the late Cyril Knowles after he performed a managerial masterclass to keep Hartlepool United in the Football League back in 1990.

Now they should be erecting a statue of Ronnie Moore at the ground after Pools retained their league status.

How Moore has managed to keep Pools out of the bottom two and lead them to the greatest of Great Escapes is nothing short of legendary.

They had nine points from 19 games when Knowles took over in December 1989 and he lifted them in an inspirational second half of the season to a haul of 55.

When Moore took charge after watching an absolutely rotten performance at Burton in mid-December, Pools had 12 points from 20 games.

He’s dragged them to 44 points, which has proved enough to keep them out of the bottom two, with Cheltenham and Tranmere proving incapable of winning.

Bristol Rovers dropped out on the final day of last season with 50 points.

Pools were down and out for most of the season. There was only one relegation place up for grabs as one was long taken; Pools were booked in for the Conference next season.

Darlington went down with a mere 30 points in 2010; Pools looked for most of the campaign they would not even reach that benchmark.

Yet after winning an unprecedented four games on the trot in March, they moved off the bottom and out of the bottom two.

They got nervous and missed chances to earn their keep, squandering the chance of victories against Newport, York and Accrington.

And so it came down to Saturday. The last thing anyone wanted was to go to Carlisle on Saturday for the last game with their future at stake.

Instead, every little thing is going to be alright and it’s all down to Moore.

He managed to get one massive performance out of his players. One 90 minute show in which they gave their all from the off and, backed by the loudest and most enthusiastic crowd at Victoria Park since the days of play-off semi-finals with Bristol City and then Tranmere in 2004 and 2005.

It’s all the more remarkable as Moore, who always maintained a positive public persona, admitted he had genuine concerns about the ability of his squad to go and win this one following a desperate defeat at Luton a week earlier.

“Last Saturday I thought we had blown it, I thought we had gone away from that sort of performance,’’ he confessed. “Losing 3-0 at Luton, I didn’t see coming. We lost David Mirfin and the two young kids at the back had gone.

“Keep them together again for this game and we would have lost, so we brought Batesy in between them to keep them right.

“His experience helped them, but last weekend was the only time I thought it wasn’t going to happen.’’

With Bates keeping Scott Harrison and Dan Jones in check at the back, at the other end of the pitch the strikers set the standards from the off, with Scott Fenwick and Jordan Hugill all over the visiting centre-halves.

The bulled them and ran them ragged. Fenwick loves a battle and how he made sure this one was his to win all day.

Paul Murray didn’t make much impression as a manager at Pools this season, but he did spot the raw and honest potential in Fenwick.

Signed from Dunston, the striker puts in the sort of honest shift and effort that is lapped up by the Victoria Park crowd. He is fast turning into a real crowd favourite.

He burst past hapless defender Scott Bennett, powering his way into the area to finish low across the keeper.

Fenwick could have had two, his measured volley from a superb Jones cross struck the legs of keeper James Hamon.

But by then Pools were level at 1-1, conceding a soft free header from a softly-conceded corner.

Credit to the players that they didn’t let it affect them and they kept at their task.

Aaron Tshibola robbed possession in midfield from Matt Oakley, took a return pass from Jordan Hugill and surged forward in the manner he is capable of.

Hugill drifted into space on the left, took the pass and cracked home on half-time. Hugill: the man who gave the half-time Bovril a sweet taste.

And so the second-half came and went without much incident. When Pools were pressed back they repelled all, Harrison majestic.

When they attacked, they never really looked like scoring that vital third. So instead it was eyes and ears on events elsewhere.

Pools finished first. Some people were on the pitch, they thought it was all over.

Then Tranmere’s defeat was confirmed. And a short wait for Cheltenham’s defeat brought utter joy, relief, tears, and jubilation.

“It was the longest 45 minutes of my life there in the second-half,’’ mused Moore. “Last time with this referee was had 12 minutes added on when Woodsy was inured – it was a relief with three going up as added on time.

“We waited on other results, we felt it was all over, but there was time left at Cheltenham and they couldn’t manage a goal.

“I asked before it was confirmed if anything was going on and people said both had lost – I was made up and then you can look like a right pratt. It was only in the tunnel we found they were playing, it’s so never wracking.

“But the Gods were smiling on us, it’s a tremendous achievement from everyone.’’