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Boss John Askey says Hartlepool fans deserve better after the club's return to non-league football was confirmed.

United overcame Barrow on Saturday, though Crawley's point against Walsall meant Askey's team were relegated with a game to spare.

Fans stayed on to applaud the players and Askey said: "I'm gutted. It's not a feeling I want to feel again.

"You feel for the supporters - it's upsetting, more for them than myself, to be in this position."

Askey added to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Tees: "For them to stay and clap the players off at the end shows what great and loyal supporters they are. It's difficult to know what to say to them - they deserve more."

Askey took over in late February after the sacking of Keith Curle but, despite losing only three of his 12 games, Pools fell short in their quest to beat the drop.

The former York boss said: "I am just sorry I wasn't able to come in earlier and make more of an impact. I felt as though I could help, but my 'good' has not been 'good' enough.

"Everyone has to take a look at themselves, myself included, and learn from it. Hopefully next season we can turn this disappointment and hurt into a good feeling."

Askey's blueprint for a promotion push is drafting in players who are up for a season-long battle.

He said: "We have got to make sure we can get players in who can compete week-in week-out. If we do that in that league we should be competing at the top end of that table rather than the bottom.

"There's quite a few players still under contract [but] changes need to be made. We'll try our best to freshen it up, keep the ones we want and try and move on players.

"We need to be more competitive. We are fine when we can play but when people put us under pressure we struggle a bit - we need to get players who have got a bit more resolve. Hopefully we can bring in some who will be competitive and roll up their sleeves when we need it.

"There's a lot of hard work to do but I'll be looking forward to it once the dust settles."