Hartlepool United manager Darren Sarll retains an interest in defender Billy Sass-Davies

The 24-year-old, who played under Sarll at both Yeovil and Woking, featured in all of the three games prior to Tuesday night's visit of Scunthorpe but was not involved in the squad for the midweek clash.

Sass-Davies, who had a staggering 10 loan spells while under contract at Crewe, the last of which saw him suffer National League relegation with Boreham Wood, is a free agent following his release and has, for the most part, impressed fans with a series of composed cameos.

The straight-talking Sarll, however, has been less enamoured with the former Welsh under-21 international, suggesting he arrived below the level he'd have liked while criticising his recent stint in Hertfordshire.

In Luke Waterfall and Tom Parkes, Pools have two outstanding central-defenders but Manny Onariase, who had a mixed first season at Victoria Park, is the only other out-and-out centre-half Sarll has at his disposal.

The fact that Sass-Davies didn't feature at all as Pools hosted Scunthorpe in midweek led to suggestions that Sarll had decided not to pursue a deal for the defender but, speaking to BBC Radio Tees Sport after the game, the manager hinted that a move could well still be on the cards.

"Billy's a weird one," he said.

"We're talking to them, there's a discussion going on.

"Because of the nature of it, because nothing is signed or sealed or agreed, I thought the best thing to do was to leave him out.

"Absolutely (there is still an interest), Lennie (Lawrence) and I, we do agree on a fair bit, and one thing we do agree on is that we can never have enough central-defenders.

"I think some of the chaps in my position last year didn't have that resource in defence.

"The best thing for a manager is lining up at the back of the tunnel and you know your two centre-halves are strong.

"Making sure that I feel that way is quite important to me.

"We'll have to see with that one, we'll have to see. I don't even know the answer yet."