Stockport County v Hartlepool United: Pools looking to crash potential promotion party at Edgeley Park

Hartlepool find themselves in the unfortunate position of having nothing to play for after their relegation to the National League was confirmed last weekend.

Askey was unable to steer his side away from the bottom two after being appointed as manager in February having won three of his 12 games in charge.

Askey had been hoping, after their 3-1 win over Barrow, to take things into the final day of the season against Stockport but Crawley Town’s draw with Walsall sealed their fate.

It means Hartlepool head to Greater Manchester with nothing but pride to play for in their final Football League fixture.

Stockport, on the other hand, managed by former Hartlepool boss Dave Challinor stand on the brink of back-to-back promotions should they secure all three points and Northampton Town fail to beat Tranmere Rovers.

But Askey, who reserved praise for Challinor ahead of Monday’s game, is keen for his side to sign off their two-year stay back in the Football League with a result which would condemn Stockport to the play-offs.

"You always want to win,” said Askey.

"We’re not going to turn up and just roll over.

"If we could spoil the party, that would be great. That’s nothing against Stockport, it wouldn’t matter who we were playing. You want to go and get a result.

"I don’t live far from Stockport and normally I want them to do well but I won’t want them to do well on Monday.

"It’s going to be really tough,” he added.

"It’s a sell-out crowd. They need to win. We’ve got nothing to play for as such, other than pride, so it’s going to be a tough afternoon and if we don’t show up then we know what to expect.

"But it’s a good challenge for the last game. It’s on the TV so I’m sure our players will be up for it. They’ve been going well, especially recently, they’ve had some great results in the last few games, so we’ll need to be at our best to compete.”

Askey is unlikely to stray too far from the side who featured against Barrow after confessing his desire to field players who want to be at the club having expanded on his recent comments with regards to certain members of his squad.

And yet Monday’s fixture is still likely to be the final fixture in a Hartlepool shirt for some of his players, with a number out of contract in the summer or unlikely to remain with the club in the National League.

"I think the majority of the ones who will be playing are signed up for next season,” said Askey.

"Anybody who isn’t, you’re hoping they’ll want to stay with the club. If they don’t then it’s their opportunity to show other clubs what they can do.

"It is on the TV. I’ve not known a player yet who plays in a match on the tele who doesn’t want to do well so I’m sure we’ll get as much as we can from the players.”