AFTER 45 games, 4050 minutes and eight months of football, Hartlepool United's season - and a chapter of club history - rests on a single game.

Written off by some of late, snubbed by others in recent weeks, and abused by sections of their own support a week ago, the team that has led Division Three for nine tenths of the campaign is now ready to win it.

And who could deny them the silverware their performances have deserved this season?

Pool go to Rushden on Saturday knowing only a win will be enough to make history, to go down in the record books as the first Victoria Park team to win something.

If Saturday's attitude and display of passion is anything to go by then Pool go to Rushden and Diamonds with the determination not shown since ex-chairman Vince Barker single handedly took on the bailiffs at regular intervals during the 70s.

The 14-point lead might have gone, but who wouldn't have taken this chance of glory back in August?

Rushden had their chance to win it on Saturday, three points at Leyton Orient would have rendered Saturday meaningless.

They blew it.

And now it's Pool's turn to make the most of the greatest opportunity ever presented to them.

Mike Newell's team talk should be easy. One win, one championship trophy. Simple isn't it?

They got their rehearsals for celebrating out of the way on Saturday, finally getting the chance to mark promotion at the third attempt.

And Newell admitted the chance to prove the doubters wrong will go a long way to securing success at Nene Park.

"To be honest, we enjoyed this one, but it was only a muted celebration really,'' confessed Newell.

"It was more of a 'we told you so' type of celebration, telling people that it's not over yet - that's all we are doing at the moment.

"Now the pressure is on them. They are at home and they only need to draw, but we actually feel that we can't lose now.

"This team has been written off and we know that if we win, then we have won the league and you can't have a bigger incentive than that.

"The worst case scenario for us would have been finding out that Orient had taken a point or beaten Rushden and then we hadn't done our job - that would probably have left us feeling lower than we did last week.''

Feeling low after winning promotion is a new phenomenon.

Then again, so is Hartlepool United winning a trophy, but Newell and assistant Kevin Sheedy have won the biggest gongs with the best of them and he admitted: "It's a big week for us now.

"We will do what we normally do training wise and we will have to think about what we are doing, wether we take them away Thursday or Friday.

"It was nice to be able to go back out there and all we have to do now is get their feet back on the floor because the lads are really high in the dressing room now - not silly high, if you know what I mean, but they are full of it.''

If they do need bringing back down, remember that Rushden will be a far tougher proposition than Shrewsbury.

The game was two teams heading out of Division Three from opposite ends. Kevin Ratcliffe, old sparring partner of Newell and Sheedy in the 80s, needs two wins from two games and even that might not be enough.

On this showing they can forget FA Cup wins over Everton and instead look forward to derbies with Telford next season.

They conceded five at Darlington weeks earlier and should have done the same this time as they offered nothing up front and even less in defence.

Pool's biggest opponent was the linesman with the twitchy arm.

Mr Foster waved his yellow cloth around like it was Pool's championship flag, offering more resistance to Gordon Watson and Eifion Williams than the hapless Karl Murray or Matt Redmile, the defender with the physique of an elephant and ability to match, ever could.

Williams put Pool in front, turning in from a couple of yards after Watson and Clarke created the sort of opening Pool have done on countless occasions in tecent years. The second, Mark Tinkler's 13th of the season, was a free header from Pool's eighth first-half corner.

Watson had earlier shot against the bar and Steve Jagielka did his best to turn a Watson cross into his own net before Clarke missed two opportunities to make it three in injury time.

The second half was a waiting game; waiting for more goals and waiting for news from Brisbane Road.

Ian Woan was sent off for lashing out at Ritchie Humphreys and Kevin Henderson netted a deserved goal from close range.

At nine minutes to five when the final whistle went at Orient, the Pool party started; there may be an even bigger one next week.

Result: Hartlepool United 3 Shrewsbury Town 0.

Read more about Hartlepool here.