Jack Hunter has committed his future to Hartlepool United with an agreement in place ahead of the 2026/27 season. The experienced midfielder has spoken of his delight after putting pen to paper.

Read below.

Jack, congratulations. How pleased are you to get the new deal agreed and stay at Pools? 

Yeah, absolutely delighted. I wanted to get everything sorted as quickly as possible and I’m really pleased it’s done now because this is definitely somewhere I wanted to stay.

There’s a lot happening around the Club at the minute and it feels like an exciting time to be here, so to get everything agreed early and know I’m going to be part of things moving forward is brilliant.

Now it’s about working hard over the summer, coming back in really good condition for pre-season and making sure I’m ready to help the team as much as I can next season.

Growing up in the North East, how much does it mean to represent a club like Pools?

You always know the size of Hartlepool United growing up in this area and how much the Club means to the supporters and the town.

But I think you probably appreciate it even more once you actually play for the Club because you see the support home and away every single week and how much people genuinely care about it.

The fans want to see a team that works hard, competes and gives everything for the shirt and, over the last few years, we probably haven’t delivered enough success for them.

They deserve better because they’re a brilliant fanbase and hopefully we can change that moving forward.

What made you want to commit your future to the Club ahead of the new season?

I just felt this was something I really wanted to be part of. With the new manager coming in and everything happening behind the scenes, there’s a real sense that the Club is trying to move forward and push in the right direction.

I’m excited by that and I’m excited to work under Lee Clark as well because he’s someone with huge experience in the game and somebody who’s achieved a lot both as a player and a manager.

When you speak to him, you can tell straight away how driven he is and how much he wants to help move the Club forward, so that was a big thing for me as well.

You’ve now spent two seasons at the Club. How much have you enjoyed your time here so far?

I’ve loved my time here to be fair. There’s obviously been ups and downs over the last couple of years, but playing in front of the supporters every week, home and away, has been brilliant and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed.

We all know we want to achieve more because this football club should be challenging higher up the table and hopefully next season we can give the fans something to really enjoy and something they can be proud of.

How positive have your conversations been with Lee Clark and Chris Maxwell since everything was agreed?

They’ve both been really positive. They’ve spoken a lot about the direction they want to take the football club, the standards they expect and what they want the squad to look like moving forward.

It’s obviously still early days and there’s a lot of work to be done over the summer, but you can already sense the ambition there and the standards they want around the place.

It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one I’m excited for because everybody wants to help get this Club competing at the right end of the table again.

Lee Clark has spoken about standards, mentality and identity. How exciting is it to hear those messages so early on?

It’s really positive to hear. The manager has worked at a very high level in the game, so he knows exactly what’s required if you want to be successful and compete consistently.

You can already see how driven he is and how much he wants to raise standards around the place and, as players, that’s exciting to be part of.

As players, you want to be working in an environment where people are demanding the best from each other every day and that’s definitely the impression I’ve had from speaking with him so far.

Do you feel your experience and leadership can play an even bigger role within the squad moving forward?

Yeah, definitely. I’m 28 now and I’ve played a lot of games at this level, so I feel I can help the group both on and off the pitch.

You need good standards every day if you want to be successful and hopefully I can play my part in helping drive that within the squad.

Whether that’s helping younger players, helping people settle in or just making sure standards stay high every day around training and matchdays, they’re all important parts of building a successful environment. 

The manager is still in the early stages of shaping the squad for next season. How important was it for you to remain part of those plans moving forward?

It was really important to me. I want to be part of a team that’s competing, winning games and pushing in the right direction and I believe that’s what everybody is working towards here.

There’s obviously still a lot of work happening behind the scenes with the squad and staff, but it definitely feels like things are moving positively.

It’s still early days, but there’s a good feeling around the Club already and I’m excited to get going again and see what we can build over the next few months.

There seems to be a real sense of momentum around the Club already. Can you feel that as a player as well?

Yeah, definitely. At this stage of the summer, all we can really do as players is make sure we come back in the best possible shape for pre-season because that’s where all the hard work starts.

But there’s definitely a sense that everybody’s pulling in the same direction and looking forward to getting started again.

As players, you can feel the ambition around the Club and hopefully we can take that into the season and give the supporters something to really get behind.

Finally, what message would you like to send to the supporters after agreeing this new deal? 

Just a massive thank you for the support they’ve given me since I joined the Club.

The backing the supporters give the team home and away is incredible and, as players, we know we want to give them more to celebrate moving forward.

The fans deserve success because they stick with the team through everything and hopefully we can repay that support next season.

I’m really looking forward to getting started again and hopefully we can all have an exciting season together.