Scott Loach opens up on his Hartlepool United future and why the next three months will be crucial

The 30-year-old is one of several players set to see their deals at the Super 6 Stadium expire this summer, and knows the next three months will be crucial as he bids to win an extended stay.

Loach believes that he and his team mates must bid to impress new manager Richard Money before the end of the current campaign, with the stopper insisting that nobody is assured of fresh terms at the club.

Since joining Pools in 2017, Loach has been a pillar of consistency in-between the sticks and has developed a strong rapport with the club’s fanbase.

His spell in the north east has proved to be stable off the pitch too, providing respite from a career which has seen the ex-Engalnd U21 international take in now fewer than 14 loan spells.

And he isn’t in a hurry to make another move in what has been a varied career.

Loach is more than content remaining at Hartlepool United, but knows he has to prove his worth in the final months of the National League campaign.

Indeed, the ‘keeper is well aware that his past achievements - which has seen him feature in the Premier League and on the international stage - will count for nothing when it comes to a decision being made.

“There’s been nothing,” said Loach, when asked about discussions over a potential new deal.

“To be fair, the gaffer has come in and I’ve got to prove myself all over again.

“It doesn’t matter what I’ve done in my past or here, you’re playing for a new gaffer and you have to impress him - as do the rest of the team.

“We all know what I think about the club and how I feel about the club, but we know how football works.

“Every one of us in that team now has to prove to the gaffer that we’re worth keeping on.

”And that’s what we’ve got to do now.

“We’re playing for our future because it’s a job.

“I’m not daft enough to forget how football works. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, it’s the here and now.

“We’ve all got to sharpen up quickly and if we can get a few wins under our belt and get to a position where we’re not going to go down, then we can start working on things for next season and have a go.”

Loach ill have done his chances of a new deal no harm with another fine performance at Harrogate.

While the stopper shipped three goals in a 3-1 defeat in front of the BT Sport cameras, he made a string of fine stops to ensure the margin of victory wasn’t greater.

Perhaps the most eye-catching of those saves came as he denied George Thomson from the penalty spot, with a combination of pre-match work - coupled with a gut feeling - resulting in a fine stop.

But Loach was disappointed in the manner in which Pools conceded at the CNG Stadium, and has urged his teammates to regroup ahead of a return to home soil this weekend.

“I just had a feeling he was going that,” he admitted.

“I do a lot of work with Ross [Turnbull, goalkeeping coach] and it’s a lottery, isn’t it?

“It looks good but as a goalkeeper you can only affect what you can affect.

“That’s my job at the end of the day, but we can’t come out in the second half and concede goals like that.

“It’s disappointing but we’ll regroup.

“Nobody is a given in this team and we’ll all have to work hard Monday to Friday.”