Rotherham United defender does his chances 'no harm' against Port Vale and Rochdale as Hartlepool United loanee continues his development

Jake Hull has done his chances ‘no harm’ in staking a claim in the Hartlepool United starting line-up for the rest of the season according to assistant manager Michael Nelson.
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Nelson handed the Rotherham United loan defender his second successive start for Pools in Easter Monday’s defeat at Rochdale having made his full debut for the club against Port Vale three days earlier.

Despite the defeat in the game against the promotion chasing Valiants, Hull applied himself well alongside Gary Liddle and Neill Byrne and as such kept his place for the trip to the Crown Oil Arena.

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And Nelson, who stood in for manager Graeme Lee, believes the 20-year-old can be satisfied with his endeavours over the course of the two 90 minutes.

Rotherham United defender Jake Hull gave a decent account of himself during his back-to-back starts for Hartlepool United. MI News & Sport LtdRotherham United defender Jake Hull gave a decent account of himself during his back-to-back starts for Hartlepool United. MI News & Sport Ltd
Rotherham United defender Jake Hull gave a decent account of himself during his back-to-back starts for Hartlepool United. MI News & Sport Ltd

“I thought he did well on Friday,” Nelson told The Mail.

“We spoke to him because we thought he could have won more headers in the second half than he did.

“His use of the ball we’ve been working really hard on as well in terms of his distribution. That shone through on Friday and here [against Rochdale] and I thought he was ok again up against a tricky opponent.”

Hull’s display at Rochdale was perhaps exemplified by a superb last ditch tackle to intercept former Darlington striker Luke Charman for what would have been a certain goal midway through the first half.

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Hull had a different proposition to face in the second half with the introduction of Abraham Odoh but the Miller’s loanee did OK despite Pools slipping to a defeat.

“He recovered well,” said Nelson.

“It was a little bit of a different player in the second half with Odoh running at him. It was something different for him with the size difference and body-weight difference. It was a good test for him.

“I don’t think he’s done himself any harm over the two 90 minutes so it’s been really good to see him come in and thrive and hopefully it gives him a bit of confidence and is good for his development.”

Hull has made just four appearances since arriving at the Suit Direct Stadium on-loan from Rotherham but could be set to see out the season with Timi Odusina’s current injury struggles.