OMAR REJOICES IN POOLS PARTY
Striker’s so glad to be back playing regularly
IT’S no wonder Omar Bogle is loving life at Hartlepool United – in six weeks he has already matched the highest goal tally he mustered at any of his eight previous clubs!
The 28-year-old Midlander had hit the target four times in eight league outings for Pools before the weekend and has not bettered that haul for any side since leaving Grimsby in 2017, encompassing spells at Doncaster, Charlton, Dutch side Den Haag, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Peterborough, Cardiff and Wigan.
Bogle once commanded a £1m transfer fee when he moved from Wigan to the Welsh capital but, until pitching up at Victoria Park, he had found regular football elusive over the last five years.
Dropping down a division from League One Doncaster seems to have got him back on the goal trail, not that the 6ft 3in frontman ever felt his firepower had deserted him. “When I am playing regularly and I’m fit, I back myself at any level to score goals whether that’s League Two, League One or the Championship,” insisted Bogle, who netted 38 times in one-and-a-half years with Grimsby.
“During the last few years, I haven’t been playing or starting anywhere near as many games as I would have liked to but I’m now somewhere where the manager and players truly believe in me and I have not had that for a while.
“The manager knows my strengths and gives me the freedom to play my own game, which is perfect for me.”
That manager Graeme Lee, left, like Bogle, has had a transformative impact on last season’s National League play-off winners. Taking over a team in December that had lost five straight games, he has inspired a potential late playoff push following a run of just three defeats during his first 15 matches at the helm.
Lee also came within a penalty shoot-out of guiding the club to Wembley for the first time in their 114-year history before his side succumbed to Rotherham in Wednesday’s Papa John’s Trophy semi-final.
Admirer
The former Pools and Sheffield Wednesday defender left his coaching role with Middlesbrough under-23s to take up the position, with Bogle an instant admirer of his managerial style.
“He has a clear message of what he wants from players and that same message is always reiterated,” he said. “It does not change, so there’s no confusion.”
It’s a tonic after his experience at Doncaster. The ex-England C international was made to train with academy players for four months and report for additional afternoon sessions away from the first team.
He briefly returned to the fold when Gary McSheffrey took the reins but, having previously admitted he came close to quitting football after being released by Cardiff, he’s taken the positives from his Rovers spell and is relishing the chance to prosper with Pools after agreeing two-and-a-half year terms.
“What happened at Doncaster was character-building,” he said. “It was ridiculous and unwarranted, but I got my head around the situation and decided I was going to work as hard as I could so that I was ready if another chance came at Doncaster or a move came along.
“It’s good now to be somewhere that I can settle and have security. I can focus on just playing football and not the outside noise or worrying about where I’ll be the next season.”
Bogle is hoping, nevertheless, that he could be back in League One next season, adding: “When I came here, I looked at the table and, in my mind, I wasn’t coming here to see out the season. I came here to help the team get in the playoff positions and to try and get promoted, because the infrastructure at the club is definitely there for us to kick on.”