CHRIS Turner is urging his players to carry on from where they left off when they entertain Shrewsbury this afternoon.

Pool's last outing in a festive programme wrecked by the big freeze saw them turn in arguably their best show of the season in beating Leyton Orient 3-1 on December 29.

Since losing at home to Luton on December 8, Pool have played only twice, drawing the return with Luton and beating Orient as four games fell victim to the weather.

Now, with a hectic spell of fixtures to come in the next two months, Turner knows how important it is for his players to continue their impressive form, which has brought 14 points from their last seven games and lifted them to the fringe of the play-off zone, primed for a top-seven push in the New Year.

"It's been very quiet of late, a bit like the end of the season to be honest. It's been a very difficult time for us over the last five weeks,'' reflected Turner.

"Now we have to carry on from where we left off the other week and hope for a similar performance.

"Not many teams in this division can cope with us if we play like we did that day - and I know we can do it again because I see the lads playing like that every day in training.''

Turner wanted to see his team in the top half of the table entering 2002 to engineer a push on the top seven places.

"We are in a similar position to where we were 12 months ago,'' he said. "With the way we are playing we are looking at pushing on.

"We've got a run of home games coming up - three out of four are at home - then we have a real hectic period in February with a lot of away games.

"But the players are full of confidence and want to play. We've a backlog coming up, but we've got a big squad and will be prepared.

"There's always the danger that the break hasn't done them any good, but I haven't noticed anything in training this week that says that. They are desperate to play and I sense a real urgency among the players.''

Turner's options for the busy period are to be boosted by the return of Paul Stephenson and Kevin Henderson from injury.

Stephenson made a surprise appearance on the bench against Orient, while Henderson is targeting a February return to action after recovering from knee surgery.

"Kevin's probably a couple of weeks away from joining in with the lads, but his fitness levels are there.

"Over the last two seasons these two boys have been mainstays in the team - Kevin will score goals and Paul will create chances from midfield for others. It will be like signing two new players when they are both fully fit.''

Pool won the first encounter between the teams this season, triumphing 3-1 at Gay Meadow as the home side had two players red carded.

But since then Kevin Ratcliffe's side have been in contention for automatic promotion.

"Hartlepool have improved since we last played them, even though they won the game it was a game of sending off by a certain Mr Ross, who has been in the papers a lot this year and I'm sure he will be for the foreseeable future,'' said Ratcliffe, who led his team in training at Middlesbrough's Rockcliffe Park complex yesterday

Read more about Hartlepool here.