Hartlepool United players can learn from Josh Umerah response to being left out

Umerah was a surprise omission from Hartlepool United’s starting XI at the One Call Stadium before coming off the bench in the second half to help earn Pools a draw in dramatic fashion.

Speaking after his inspired cameo, Umerah insisted there was no point to prove when coming on as a substitute and interim manager Curle has challenged the rest of his squad who are left out of the starting XI to vent their frustrations in a similar way to the Pools striker.

“It’s a message for some of the other players as well that haven’t been selected,” Curle told The Mail after explaining his decision to leave Umerah out of his starting XI.

“Every week I tell the players that the players who haven’t started a game are massively important because they’re game changers.

“They’re not subs, they’re not excluded from the first team, they’re game changers and they've got a huge role to play and part of that role is how they conduct themselves and face their disappointment.”

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Curle added: “I’m big on groups and I'm big on [the idea of] team. If you’re disappointed and you're angry, come and vent it at me but then stay part of the group.

“I want people to be upset, I want people to be frustrated, but show it in the right way because we’re part of a team.”