AS far as debuts go, James Coppinger couldn't ask for more.

Almost two years ago he moved to Hartlepool on loan, netting his first goal minutes after appearing as a debutant substitute at Barnet.

One Saturday, things were even better second time around for the Newcastle United man. A goal, an assist and a shining display in a 5-1 victory were beyond anything the 21-year-old could have dream about when he signed a two-month loan deal at Victoria Park on Thursday.

Since leaving Pool and returning to St James' Park in May 2000 after Pool were knocked out the play-offs at the semi-final stage by Darlington, first-team football has been scarce for Coppinger.

One brief substitute against Tottenham is all he has to show for almost 4 years on Tyneside since he moved from Darlington in March 1998.

But how he made up for that on Saturday.

Pool had been threatening this sort of result for weeks. They probably played better against both Orient and in the first-half against Shrewsbury, but who is going to argue?

Gordon Watson scored two to make it 12 goals in 19 games this season, Tommy Widdrington, Ritchie Humphreys and Coppinger were also on target as Pool romped to their biggest win since beating Barnet 6-1 in December 2000. Chris Turner knew Coppinger was coming back to a better team than the one he left; perhaps Coppinger didn't expect it was this good.

"It was a great performance," beamed Coppinger. "But not just me, the whole team as well .To win 5-1 is unbelieveable - better than I could have thought.

"I've never played with Gordon Watson or Ritchie Humphreys before, last time Spike and Kevin Henderson were up front, but they did really well on Saturday and you can see how good they are.

"Playing on the left or right you want to try and get forward and support the front players all the time and they make it easy for you when they hold the ball up."

Coppinger found out last time around how physical the Third Division can be; uncompromising center halfs take no greater pleasure than giving a 5ft 4in centre forward a few gentle reminders of their presence. And it didn't take long for Coppinger - in for groin injury victim Darrell Clarke on the right wing - to pick up a welcome message on Saturday.

Just 13 minutes had gone when he was flattened by Gary Setchell; the fat lip he was left with said it all.

"I'm a bit stronger physically than before," he said. "I'm 21 and I think that it will be 24 or 25 when I reach my peak - people reach it at different ages - so there's still more to come. I felt a lot stronger on Saturday than last time and that's mentally as well.

"It's so hard to get out of reserve team football because you get stuck in a rut. I tried to get away last year, but I couldn't for certain reasons. Macclesfield and Exeter have been interested, lots of teams, but nothing came of it.

"I'm just so pleased to come here. There's isn't another club in the League, the Third Division at least, where I would rather be."

And on this showing there's no-one the Pool supporters would rather have.

"Everyone knows I'm friend with Robbo and I'm always asking how things have been going. "My last game was Darlington in the play-offs and I would have loved to have beat them and go all the way. If we had gone up, then I might have stayed here.

Coppinger's arrival last time propelled Pool into the play-offs; Turner is hoping for a similar outcome.

The Pool boss said: "We looked at him during the week and he played on the right.

"He was very dangerous, very bright and put two or three good crosses into the box.

"He did the same on Saturday, it wasa great pass for Gordon Watson to score and he returned the compliment.

"He's a very good footballer. He's one of the young players that a lot of Premier League clubs find difficult to bring into the team, because Newcastle have a host of quality players.

"He needs League games and that's why we have brought him here."

Watson scored his customary first goal of the game, tapping in after Mark Tinkler's header clipped the bar and he was on hand to nab the rebound.

Despite their possession game, Pool went in just one-goal to the good. Ten minutes into the second half and fans could have been forgiven for thinking back two weeks to Shrewsbury's second-half comeback.

Paul Hall skipped past Mark Robinson and Graeme Lee and crossed for Ritchie Hanlon who thankfully wasted the chance.

Minutes later, it was game over.

Paul Smith switched to the right wing and showed he is just as lethal as he is on the left. He skinned the full back and sweetly crossed for Humphreys to nod in.

Watson's 12th goal - a tally which equals his best seasonal haul - came when Coppinger's through ball put him away and when Billy Turley blocked his first effort, the predator wasn't going to miss a second chance.

Widdrington's second goal in a Pool shirt was as easy to score as his first - a tap in from eight yards after his initial shots was half-blocked by Turley.

And they saved the best until last. Coppinger sprayed the ball to Watson and he return the compliment with a cross for the loan man to scissor kick high into the net.

The result certainly put the previous week's defeat at Mansfield to bed. Widdrington's calming influence in midfield showed how much he was missed at Field Mill, Graeme Lee won every tackle and answered every question asked, Smith was a revelation on right and left flank and how Humphreys deserves a goal.

Scunthorpe tomorrow night will doubtless prove a sterner test. But confidence is high and who would bet against Pool at home now?