RELEGATION has never been an issue for Chris Turner.

Tuesday's win at Macclesfield lifted Pool off bottom spot and into 19th in Division Three.

And while the Pool boss is not getting carried away, he admits to looking at the top end of the table instead of fearing being involved in a scrap to get away from the bottom.

Pool entertain Oxford - one of the teams now below Pool - at Victoria Park on Saturday and he admitted: "Without being complacent, I don't look at the relegation issue - I am looking at the promotion and play-off places.

"If we can beat Oxford then it gives us back-to-back wins and that gives you the confidence to get a third and keep it going.

The League is very tight and if you can put together back-to-back results then you can shoot up the table. That's how we got our unbeaten run going last season.

"I said to the players in the dressing room afterwards 'enjoy tonight, but we've got to make it count on Saturday'.

"I think they deserved that result on the back of some of the other away games when they have played ever so well and not got the result they deserve, but the result it all that matters. It wasn't our most fluent performance but it was hard-working and we deserved to win.

"I have read and heard people saying the team is not committed or doesn't have the passion but it's always been there and this was their reward for the hard work.

"Tommy Widdrington covered every blade of grass on Tuesday. Mark Tinkler did as well - they had a job to mark Kevin Keen and Chris Priest out of the game and they did it.''

James Sharp's sending-off on Tuesday will mean a three-game ban for the defender and he will miss the home games with Hull, Exeter and Halifax next mont.

Tinkler's fifth booking of the season at Moss Rose means he is out of the game with Hull on November 6 and Widdrington, cautioned at Torquay last Saturday, misses the trip to Plymouth a week on Saturday after collecting five bookings.

Read more about Hartlepool here.