That one was for the boss – Baxter

Jose Baxter in action at Hartlepool.

TOP scorer Jose Baxter was not shy in singing the praises of his manager after securing a win of significance for Athletic at Hartlepool.

The eight-goal striker netted a winning goal in added time at Victoria Park, slotting home after his initial effort from the penalty spot had been smothered by unlucky goalkeeper Scott Flinders.

In a division in which delight and disappointment are often separated by a hair's breadth, this time it was Athletic who were left smiling after bagging three points for the first time in a month.

It was clear from the reaction how much the victory meant to the players.

And after earlier netting his first goal, capitalising on a Hartlepool mishap to finish with panache, the way Baxter wheeled away to celebrate with his manager Paul Dickov showed solidarity with his under-pressure boss, too.

"I just think the manager has stuck with us through our bad patch," said Baxter (20).

"It was a bit of credit to him from the lads to say thanks for what he has done.

"He hasn't dropped out on us or bad-mouthed us. He is a top manager."

Baxter admitted he feared the worst after his penalty kick in the second minute of additional time was smothered by Flinders.

Having enjoyed the stroke of fortune in seeing the ball squirm back towards him, the highly-rated ex-Everton player is hopeful the result can kick-start a good run in the next few games.

"We have been working on it all week, to never give up and show loads of desire," he added. "We did that and managed to score.

"Hopefully we can go on a good run now — win on Saturday, progress in the FA Cup and hopefully see things go better for us."

To read the full story buy a Chronicle or the eChron and iChron digital versions for laptop and mobile.