Hartlepool United winger Luke Molyneux looking to prove Sunderland wrong following release

Luke Molyneux has opened up about his Sunderland exit as he aims to prove his former club wrong at Hartlepool United this season.
HUFC pre season training session East Durham College. 25-06-2019. Picture by FRANK REIDHUFC pre season training session East Durham College. 25-06-2019. Picture by FRANK REID
HUFC pre season training session East Durham College. 25-06-2019. Picture by FRANK REID

The 21-year-old winger spent the majority of last season on loan at Gateshead and Pools before Sunderland opted not to extend their academy graduate’s contract. 

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Molyneux but one he quickly bounced back from when he agreed to re-join Hartlepool permanently earlier this month. 

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“I’d been (at Sunderland) since I was 14 so it was quite tough,” he admitted. 

“I was one of the last ones in my age group who were still there. It was only me and Denver (Hume) who were left so it was quite tough to leave but I think it’s going to help me in the long run.

“It’s just about proving them wrong now and I think this is definitely going to be an advantage for me as a player.

“If I did stay at Sunderland, I might just have went back out on loan or even still just not been playing so if I’m here playing week in, week out I think it’s always going to be good for me.”

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Molyneux revealed that Sunderland – who were fighting for promotion back to the Championship at the time – kept him in the dark regarding his future. 

“I was quite surprised that I wasn’t kept on there but I didn’t really hear much from Sunderland,” he added.

“The first time I had a chat with Jack Ross, I went to see him and he was obviously it was dependent on what league (Sunderland) were going to be in.

“The deadline was after the play-off final and obviously that’s when they found out they’d be staying in League One so I thought maybe I would be staying but obviously that wasn’t the case. 

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“It came to the deadline. I didn’t really get told I wasn’t getting a new contract until a week after which by then you’re already looking for another club.

“Especially at the start of last season, I never thought about leaving Sunderland, I thought I was still going to be there for a while.

“Now I’m back at Hartlepool, I can’t wait to get started.”