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Moore hails magnificent March

Image: Ronnie Moore: March made me believe

Ronnie Moore began to believe Hartlepool's 'great escape' from relegation was possible following a four-game winning run in March.

Pools were 10 points adrift at the foot of League Two in January but after fighting back from three goals down on the final day to draw 3-3 at Carlisle, they closed the season four points clear of the bottom two to secure an unlikely survival. Moore initially struggled to make an impact on an ailing squad, but Pools followed up back-to-back wins at Morecambe and Oxford in March with home victories over Mansfield and Cambridge to give their relegation fight momentum. "Without doubt the turning point was the four straight wins we managed in March," Moore told Press Association Sport. "We weren't that far away prior to that run. "We were getting beaten by the odd goal, but we brought in an experienced centre-back in David Mirfin and he came in and sat in between the young kids Dan Jones and Scott Harrison. "We pushed them on to wing-back roles and they really loved to push on and we slotted in a holding midfielder in Matthew Bates and it just took off." Moore, who also drafted in Reading midfielder Aaron Tshibola and Preston striker Jordan Hugill, has hailed all his loan players for their impact on the club. "Overall the loan players have been fantastic for us, no doubt about it," the 62-year-old said. Moore, sacked by Tranmere in April 2014 after admitting breaking the Football Association's betting rules, added: "I had been out of work and was just grateful to be handed the chance to get back in. "I can't thank (chief executive) Russ Green and (chairman) Ken Hodcroft enough for giving me the opportunity and once I went in there it was just a case of getting to grips with it. "I've enjoyed going in to work so much after being out for eight months and it's just one of those things - it got me going. "I've loved every minute of it."

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