JOHN Hughes admits having Simon Walton available for the season's end is vital for Hartlepool United.

The midfielder was sent-off in last Friday's loss to MK Dons, but Pools appealed the decision and Walton was cleared on Tuesday.

If the ban was upheld, then his season would have been over. Pools meet Bury tomorrow at Victoria Park, and, with four games remaining, accept the need to win all four.

Even that probably wouldn't be enough to keep them in League One, but it would at least restore some pride amid an awful run of eight games without a goal.

"Simon is now available, we have four games and have to win them all. Bury are around us, we have to win it,'' insisted Hughes.

"Simon is vital in our style of football, pivotal in midfield, gets on the ball and passes it, long and short, and most of our play goes through him.

"I'm delighted the card has been overturned. Can he go again the last four games?''

Hughes added: "I feel Simon was a boo boy when I came in, turned it around and now he is our playmaker. Sam Collins has been outstanding the last couple of months. It's games all the time, two a week, and for Sam to play consistently like that has been a positive.

"I always feel that after giving ourselves a chance we have to make sure the physio room is free of injury, but now it's catching up.

"Evan (Horwood), hamstring and hip, Tony (Sweeney) hamstring, Nathan (Luscombe) and (James) Poole dead legs - we are down in numbers.''

Jack Baldwin is also a doubt after suffering an ankle knock, while Ritchie Humphreys is expected to be fit amid a calf problem.

"We assess Jack, he took an ankle knock,'' said Hughes. "His return has been a positive, his powers of recovery from injury and he came back against MK Dons and played Monday as well. Outstanding. He got stuck in and has no fear.''

Pools could be relegated tomorrow and Hughes stressed the importance of a positive performance.

"I hoped at Oldham the other week I wouldn't need a big team talk - against a team we had to catch, cup final outlook and we weren't at our best,'' he said.

"This is must-win, win it and we have a wee chance. If it doesn't go our way then it could be the final nail.''