Joe Ramage: Hartlepool United's lonely road of faith ahead of biggest game since promotion back to the Football League

Three points from safety with just nine to play for, Hartlepool could find themselves all but relegated should they lose against nearest rivals Crawley Town this weekend.

Having galvanised his squad over recent weeks, leading them to an eight game unbeaten run, John Askey now finds himself on the precipice of relegation.

But while his CV will take the hit, should Hartlepool fail over their remaining three games, this has been a culmination of what has transpired over the last 18 months.

If it’s been said once, it will be said again and again. Hartlepool have been unable to climb off of the slippery slope they have been on since Dave Challinor’s exit in November 2021.

Much water has passed under the bridge since then, plenty of mud has been thrown, but the upshot is this football club has been in a tailspin since their promotion winning manager deemed it necessary to walk out of his first Football League job inside just three months despite having his side in play-off contention after the first third of the season.

For many, that will remain the biggest unsolved mystery at the club until the finer details come out, if they ever are to.

And although they managed to get by over the remainder of last season, Hartlepool have made too many poor decisions as a club, particularly over the course of the last 12 months.

Six years ago Hartlepool were about to exit the Football League for the first time in their history.

They were relegated alongside Leyton Orient who amassed just 36 points in the 2016-17 campaign.

Three years earlier, Orient had narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship when losing the League One play-off final. Heading into the National League they almost went out of business.

And yet, fast forward to present day and Orient have just secured their promotion back to League One whilst Hartlepool, who took twice as long to get back to the Football League, are on the brink of a catastrophic return to non-league.

It almost feels like death by a thousand cuts.

And yet within all of this there remains that slight hope and that slight, lonely road of faith.

It’s remarkable, really, Hartlepool still have a chance of survival. Despite the negative undertone of this column, it is still in their hands to survive.

Victory over Crawley will see them overhaul them where they would then just have to match what Scott Lindsey’s side do in the final two games of the season. Simple, right?

But whether Hartlepool escape from this situation or not, there is a serious evaluation of club proceedings which needs to be considered, for this cannot happen again.

Should they go down, you can’t help but worry about their future. You only have to take a glance at some of the ex-Football League clubs who are struggling or who have now been relegated from the National League. It’s absolutely not an immediate fix should they fall.

If Hartlepool are to make it through these storms, and signal any winds of change, then Saturday simply must go in their favour.

It’s their most significant game since the play-off final when returning to the Football League.