A day to forget for sorry Pools

At the start of arguably the most difficult series of matches the club has ever faced, the last thing Hartlepool United needed was a home humiliation like the one they got against MK Dons at Victoria Park. Their heaviest home defeat for 16 years left the players shattered, the fans disgusted and the manager angry.

Losing is bad enough, losing at home makes it worse and losing in this fashion is unacceptable.
New signing Joe Gamble must have wondered what he has let himself in for after making his debut in this shambles.
Behind early on to a goal by former Pools striker Jermaine Easter, Chris Turner’s team collapsed and he had no excuses.
He told the club website that it was a massive blow, but vowed not to hide or make excuses, and to move on to the next game.

The fact that that is on Tuesday night away to Charlton hardly fills those who watched Saturday’s mess with optimism.
MK dons played well and their manager Paul Ince did say that the performance – and the result – had been threatening to arrive sooner or later.

But this was easily Pools’ worst performance of the season at a very difficult time. The matches coming up all look daunting, and if they play as badly as they did on Saturday, the mid-table comfort they have enjoyed since the start of the will soon disintegrate and turn into a survival struggle.

We had one of those last season and it wasn’t exactly fun, so the fans will, like Turner,  be expecting a lot better than this.

Without a serious effort on target and without a player who did his reputation any good at all, it was a day to forget – but that won’t be easy for those who paid to watch it.
It's going to be a test of the team's character to come out of the crisis this performance threatens to plunge them into.