Relegation comes just two seasons after a resurgent Hartlepool returned to the English Football League after four years away, although the cracks appeared just months after promotion was assured.
Manager Dave Challinor, the architect of their promotion campaign culminating in play-off final victory over Torquay, was lured down a division to join Stockport.
At that stage they were 10th in League Two, and although Graeme Lee took them to the fourth round of the FA Cup and led the team on an eight-game unbeaten run between January and February 2022, they finished the season without a win in nine to end up 17th.