Former Newcastle United defender Jamie Sterry 'putting himself in the shop window' at Hartlepool United

The former Newcastle United defender slotted in at right-back despite training just a handful of times ahead of the game.

And it proved to be a successful evening for Pools at Victoria Park as goals from Rhys Oates, Ryan Johnson and a Luke Armstrong brace saw the side pick up their biggest home win in three years.

The result took Hartlepool up to fifth in the National League table with manager Dave Challinor praising Sterry’s impact on his debut.

Though the Pools boss fears the defender’s time at the club could be short-lived with the EFL transfer window set to open next month.

"It was a quick one that we sorted out,” Challinor told The Mail.

"We have to be realistic and say that it’s a short term fix for us because he has ambitions to play in the Football League which I totally get.

"He had some interest from League One in the summer and he wants to be at that level or pushing to play in the Championship.

"I get it’s just about him playing games and us providing him with a platform to go and show what he can do. Hopefully he will enjoy his time here and realise that we want to keep him and he can be part of something here.”

Pools had been in discussions with Sterry in the summer but nothing materialised.

The 25-year-old made 12 appearances for Newcastle over five years while also having brief EFL loan spells at Coventry City and Crewe Alexandra

“Jamie is unfortunate in the fact that he was at Newcastle for such a long time and was well liked and in and around the first team which meant it was difficult for him to go out on loan and get games,” Challinor added.

“He had a half season at Coventry but was usually around the 18th man in the squad so didn’t end up playing a lot of first team games [for Newcastle].

"Speaking to him, you got a real feeling that he wanted to play football and wanted to put himself out there.

"He hasn’t played a lot and, for a League One club, it’s going to be a gamble with big contracts in the current climate.

"We were disappointed we couldn’t do something earlier but he’s putting himself in the shop window.

"He’s local, he wants to play games and it’s going a bit into the unknown coming here but I thought he was brilliant.

"He was up against Jordan Williams who is big, powerful and quick so it was a good experience for him and he’s at a good age but he’s played very few games for the age he is.

"Hopefully he does really well but not too well that other people see him and want to take him because he’ll be a good addition to the group.

"Playing in the environment he has around the characters he has, you have that confidence and arrogance about you and he was able to step into a game having trained with us for a few days and look like he’d been with us all season.”

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Hartlepool United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor