Robbie Stelling assesses Anthony Mancini's Hartlepool United future

Hartlepool Mail

On the latest episode of the Poolie Podcast, Robbie Stelling discusses Anthony Mancini, his injury troubles whilst at Hartlepool United and what his future could hold.

Transcript

00:00You mentioned Mancini. What a season it might have been if he'd have stayed fit all season,

00:05but then you could also argue that if he was fully fit all the time, then the chances are

00:09he'd be in the Football League, wouldn't it, given his level of talent that he possesses.

00:14Do you think he'll still be at Pools next season, Mancini?

00:20Well, you certainly might think so, Rich. I think you're exactly right. In terms of his talent,

00:26he could certainly play at a higher level. The issue is, obviously, he's got to prove

00:31that he can be fit for more than he has been over the last couple of seasons. I think only 14

00:36appearances last season. Obviously, he had that terrible hamstring injury, came back on Boxing Day,

00:41played for around a month but never looked quite fully fit, and then played for 10 minutes under

00:46Kevin Phillips when he came back in March against Southend, and then was subsequently substituted

00:52off in a very brief abortive comeback. This season has been a slight improvement in terms of his

00:59fitness. Between August and December, he was mostly available for selection.

01:03Just Darren Selman, Lenny Lawrence didn't seem to put that much faith in him. He was often

01:08tasked with coming off the bench and trying to make an impact in 10, 15, 20 minutes. That's

01:12obviously really difficult. Such is his luck. He just seemed to be getting going, didn't he,

01:19when he was struck down by that injury after impressing so much on New Year's Day against

01:24Oldham, scored the winning goal, and really gave the Oldham back line a difficult time.

01:31But he looks to have hit the ground running from when he's since coming back, obviously,

01:35returned from the bench and then started for the first time against Boston. Although I think we

01:41both noticed there was a five-minute spell in the second half when he looked a little bit tender.

01:45He was holding his groin and sort of glancing nervously over to the bench. We spoke to him at

01:50the press conference last week, and he said, look, I do have to learn to trust my body. That's

01:55completely understandable, given that he's had so many injuries. Obviously, what he needs really

02:00is a run of six months to a year where he can just play football and not have to worry about

02:06his body breaking down. I think that might be massively significant in terms of his career

02:11development, because, of course, he is only 23 still, and he is hugely, hugely talented. He's

02:17certainly got the talent to play in the Football League. You wonder whether his injury record

02:22might put clubs off, but you also wonder whether his talent is such that teams might think he's

02:28worth a punt. I do think he really enjoys playing for Hartlepool United. He's a popular member

02:35of the dressing room. He's a great character. He's a really nice guy. And obviously,

02:39he's a real fan favourite as well. So certainly the hope is

02:42that he's going to spend at least another season at the Prestige Group stadium.

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