MIKE Newell wants Hartlepool United's supporters to relax - and enjoy the last few weeks of the season.

A miserable March has seen Pool's lead at the top of the Division Three table to cut from 14 points to just one and the Victoria Park crowd have become increasingly impatient as they wait another week to secure promotion.

That should come on Saturday when Leyton Orient visit Victoria Park and with two more home games remaining - against struggling Rochdale and Shrewsbury - Pool are still in pole position to be crowned champions without having to go to second placed Rushden on the last day of the season needing a victory.

And Newell said: "I keep saying no-one is going to roll over and let us win - it doesn't work like that.

"If we had won a couple of more games in the last month then we would have been promoted by now - and we would have been the first side in the country to be promoted.

"No-one has won anything yet, no one has been celebrating yet - it just doesn't work like that.

"And people have been asking me these questions about promotion and winning things since February. People wanted us to win the championship early and it just doesn't happen.

"If we had gone up when people were wanting it, we would have been the first team in history to do it in February or March.

"So we have to take the lows with the highs and come through them.''

Skipper Micky Barron was missing on Saturday and the is facing a battle to be fit for Saturday.

Newell added: "Micky was injured, so it gave others an opportunity, but that is what is going to happen during a season - players can come in and will always fill in at times.

"On Saturday we were better in the second half, but we couldn't have been any worse to be honest and we haven't been playing as well in recent weeks as we have been lately.

"For two or three months we played some really good stuff and did not have a problem but we are not playing the same sort of stuff at the moment. We are just grinding results out.''

* Newcastle teenager Joe Kendrick will play for Pool's reserves this afternoon against Grimsby at Victoria Park (2pm). The left-sided defender, a regular in the Magpies' reserve side this season, is on a week long trial.

* Pool have been given 2,000 tickets for the game at Scunthorpe on Saturday, April 19 - but the game is not all ticket. Tickets - £14 for adults, £8 concessions - will be on sale to season ticket holders only, on production of voucher E until Saturday and go on general sale from Tuesday, 15 April. Remaining tickets will be on sale on the turnstiles on the day of the game.

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