Stelling’s plea to struggling Pool boss

HARTLEPOOL boss Dave Jones insists he won’t quit – despite coming under fire from Jeff Stelling to do so.

As Pools slumped into the bottom two in League Two as they fell to an insipid defeat to Barnet, the Victoria Park crowd turned on the manager.

And Stelling, the club’s president, blasted the manager on Sky Sports after the game.

He raged: “We have lost at home, in the relegation places, and it’s not personal but for God’s sake for the good of the club go now. Walk now.’’

Jones, who has taken only 13 points from a possible 51 in charge at Pools, said: “We have to win at Cheltenham next week, we think about what we can do.

“We did things different this week, changed the personnel a bit, we are stuck with what we have got.

“We try and change it, but it’s getting that bit of fight and scrap keep hold of what you have got.

“I’ve fought all my life and I won’t stop, but I didn’t expect the players to stop too.’’

Pools offered nothing positive against opposition with only one win in 12.

Their first shot came when Nathan Thomas bobbled one into keeper Josh Vickers from distance on 64 minutes.

A minute later, the Bees took the lead as John Akinde turned in the area and cracked in an angled finish for his 25th of the season.

On 71 minutes the lead was doubled as Jamal Campbell-Ryce broke away on the left side, and set up substitute Simeon Akinola at the near post.

Akinde missed a late penalty, keeper Joe Fryer saving his weak effort.

The home crowd turned angrily on Jones, the players and the club’s chairman during the defeat.

They have two games to go – at Cheltenham and at home to Doncaster – and they look devoid of ideas and appear doomed.

Bees’ standin boss Rossi Eames beamed: “We said prematch how we wanted to go about the game and we did it. Mentality was good, and we really wanted a clean sheet, which was huge.

“It’s been a long time since we dominated like we have. Our supporters were magnificent, all 203 of them, and they’ve been brilliant all season, we appreciate it.

“The performance has been in the locker for a while and first goal can be important.

“John gets in and scored and sometimes you have to win ugly sometimes, it’s not always beautiful but they all contributed here.’’