Hartlepool have drifted to a best price of 12/1 with Bet Victor, out from 4/1, in the market for Hartlepool to win promotion from the National League.
Hartlepool's price to win promotion from the National League has drifted out sharply, moving from 4/1 to a best of 12/1 with Bet Victor, and the reasons behind the move are not hard to find.
Hartlepool are now seventh-shortest in the market for Hartlepool to win promotion from the National League, priced at a best of 12/1 with Bet Victor.
Six of eight bookmakers have eased their odds, with the drift out from 4/1 reflecting a club in serious difficulty.
Pools lost 3-1 at home to Worthing on 19 September 2026, a sixth defeat in their opening nine matches of the season.
Head Coach Lee Clark resigned with immediate effect straight after the Worthing loss, leaving the dugout in the air.
This is a club in a proper slump, and the market has reacted accordingly. The 3-1 home defeat to Worthing on 19 September 2026 was Hartlepool's sixth loss in their opening nine league matches, and it summed up the problems. Cory Adjetey-Brew and Ricky Aguiar had Worthing two goals clear before William Harris pulled one back for Hartlepool in the 77th minute, only for Jose Marquez to add a third in stoppage time. That kind of soft finish, conceding late when chasing the game, is exactly the sort of thing that unsettles a promotion price. The engine room looked stretched too, with Cam John drafted in to replace suspended captain Jack Hunter, who was serving a ban after his red card against Altrincham.
The bigger blow came off the pitch. Head Coach Lee Clark resigned with immediate effect after the final whistle, and the club has said only that a further update on the first-team management situation will follow in due course. A leaderless dugout and a squad short on results is a hard sell to layers, so it is no surprise that Hartlepool's price to win promotion from the National League has drifted rather than held firm. When six of eight bookmakers ease a price in the same direction, they are reading the same signals: instability at the top and a run of defeats that has left Pools chasing the pack.
National League Promotion odds
Boreham Wood head the market at a best price of 3/10 with QuinnBet, with Southend next at 6/5 with William Hill, Carlisle at 10/3 with William Hill and Harrogate Town out at 11/2 with William Hill. Hartlepool sit seventh-shortest, available at a best of 12/1 with Bet Victor, with Bet365, William Hill, Unibet and QuinnBet all matching that price and BetGoodWin the shortest at 11/1.
Last updated: 20 September 2026, 13:10 UK time
Odds below are live and may have changed since publishing this article.
Who is favourite to win promotion from the National League?
Boreham Wood are the clear favourites at a best price of 3/10 with QuinnBet, and they have earned that standing. They sat top of the table heading into the 19 September 2026 fixtures on the back of an unbeaten run of eight league games to open the season, and they have strengthened up top too, adding forward Ben Whitfield from Barrow and taking Conor Wilkinson on a three-month loan from Solihull Moors. A minor concern is forward Matt Rush, sidelined with an injury picked up against Eastleigh, but with that firepower it is easy to see why the layers rate them so highly. Below them the market is more open, and Hartlepool's drift has left them well down the order.
Boreham Wood – 3/10 with QuinnBet
Southend – 6/5 with William Hill
Carlisle – 10/3 with William Hill
Harrogate Town – 11/2 with William Hill
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Can Hartlepool win promotion from the National League?
On current form it is a tall order, and the drift out to 12/1 with Bet Victor reflects that. The immediate priority is sorting out the dugout after Lee Clark's exit, and until that is settled it is hard to see Hartlepool's National League promotion price coming back in. The fixtures do not offer an easy reset either: Pools travel to Scunthorpe United at the Attis Arena on 26 September 2026 before returning to Victoria Park to host Woking. Get some points on the board in those two and the mood can shift quickly at this level, but with Boreham Wood setting the pace and six of eight bookmakers having eased their price, there is plenty of ground to make up before the market starts moving back in Hartlepool's favour.
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