By Charlie Summerbell
November 4 2012

Having given Neale Cooper a kicking that put him out of work, Hartlepool United's players have now done the same to caretaker Micky Barron ... Pools don't just need a magician to escape the drop, they need a miracle worker.

Parting the red sea was nothing compared to what is needed at Victoria Park.

Losing to a mediocre League Two side is bad enough, but that sort of thing happens in the FA Cup.

Losing 6-1 is a disgrace, and the players deserve every ounce of criticism they get for it.

Barron said before the game at Chesterfield that he was relishing the challenge and there’s no doubt he fancied his chances of getting the job on a permanent basis.

Fat chance on this form.

Interviews are due to take place this week, and if ever  chairman Ken Hodcroft needed to work a bit of magic on his decision-making it’s now.

Mark Boden, Mark Randall and Craig Clay made it 3-0 in the first half, Terrell Forbes making it four before Antony Sweeney pulled one back. But the home team quickly got a fifth through Jack Lester before Craig Westcarr rubbed salt in the gaping Pools wounds.

Barron admitted he was embarrassed by the performance and said the fans who saw the game were right to boo the players.

“We’ve got defenders who don’t defend,” he told the club website. “It’s like a roller-coaster – we have a little up then a massive down, and today’s the biggest down we could have had.”

Out of all three cup competitions at the first hurdle and rooted to the foot of the table, Pools are worse off than they have been for years, and the current squad are showing no signs of being good enough to stage a revival.

Even miracles might not be good enough.