John Askey credits Bradford City striker after double leaves Hartlepool United in the bottom two

Cook scored his 21st and 22nd league goals of the season to, twice, level against Askey’s side, including a superb volley 12 minutes from time.

The Bantams were indebted to their talisman after Hartlepool had taken the lead either side of half-time, first through an excellent strike from Callum Cooke on his return to Valley Parade and then again through Dan Kemp's sixth goal for the club.

But Cook’s double, taking his tally to four against Hartlepool this season and extending his advantage over Northampton Town's Sam Hoskins in the League Two goal scoring charts, meant Askey would have to settle for a fourth successive draw since his arrival at the Suit Direct Stadium.

“It was a great finish,” Askey admitted to The Mail.

“As soon as it left his foot you knew it was going in. We could have defended better, we could have got out to him a little quicker, but that’s what you get for teams like this.

“They’ve got the best striker in the league.”

Despite his praise for Cook, Askey was left a little frustrated at his side missing the opportunity to double their advantage before the 32-year-old would level the scores early in the second half.

Connor Jennings and Kemp both had good openings before Cook nodded in from Richie Smallwood’s free kick.

“There were chances when it was 1-0, I think Connor had a couple of good chances and Kempy had a couple in the first half - Connor was disappointed, he’s not aimed across the keeper.

“We were getting forward and we had a lot of corners and free kicks and you only do that if you are in the opposition's half.

“But teams like Bradford, they’re a huge team for this league and coming here is always going to be difficult. It’s disappointing we’ve not got the three points but we take a lot from it.”

And it is that sense of being able to take the positives from another draw is what Askey is clinging to, with his side now back in the bottom two after a number of results involving their relegation rivals went against them following the draw at Valley Parade.

“I think as a player when you come to places like this you just want to show what you can do and they did that today,” said Askey.

“I don’t think there was any thought on what position we are in the league, it was just a case of them going out there, expressing themselves and trying to win the game.

“I think we are [seeing progress] and hopefully everybody else sees that.

“I’ve been really pleased with the attitude of the players and how they’ve taken things on board but mostly the work rate and the willingness to run about and stop the opposition from playing and expressing themselves when they’ve got the ball.

“I think they can see light at the end of the tunnel that we’ve got a way of playing and they look as though they’re enjoying playing and that’s what you want. Hopefully it will be enough.”