Pools midfielder Jamie Miley speaks on his boyhood club, family bond and start to life at the Prestige Group Stadium.

The 21-year-old joined Pools at the start of the month after spending a decade at Newcastle United.

The midfielder discusses how he started his career, linking up with his boyhood club as an 11-year-old.

“When I was six, my Dad set up a team called Beamish,” he explained.

“Funnily enough, a Newcastle scout watched me and passed his details onto my parents, but I ended up joining Sunderland when I was eight or nine.

“Then I joined Newcastle when I was 11, and my brother Lewie joined when he was nine, so we worked our way up through the academy together.

“I left school and got a scholarship when I was 16, then captained the U18s, and got offered a professional contract in 2022.”

Football is an important part of the Miley household, with Jamie’s three younger brothers also enjoying success in the game.

“My parents have played a massive part in our career,” he added.

“They’ve sacrificed a lot for us – they’d drive all over to take us to training and games.

“My Dad would start work at 7am then take us straight to football – he wouldn’t get in the house until 9pm.

“As my brothers have gotten older, we’ve all supported each other massively. Lewie is two years younger than me, while Mason is four and Layton is 10 years younger.

“Lewie’s doing really well at Newcastle in the first team, Mason’s just got his scholarship there and Layton is at Middlesbrough.

“We try to watch each other as much as possible. We’ve got a family group chat so all the results go in there, it gets quite busy on a weekend.”

For Jamie, watching his team in the stands as a boy, to playing in front of a packed St James Park felt like a dream come true.

“It was really special for me,” he explained.

“Last year, I came off the bench at Gateshead and in America in pre-season – that was a great experience.

“This year, I played a few more games in pre-season. I started away to Hull City and there was 5,000 Newcastle fans there, that was brilliant.

“Then I started against Girona at St James Park. I remember getting a phone call the night before, asking me to go to the training ground in the morning. I got there and we were doing shape work, that’s how I found out. That day was obviously a special experience.

“All the lads were really supportive, it’s a really close group. Any young player that steps up to the first team, the experienced lads support them massively.

“I remember we played Rangers last year and Jacob Murphy was excellent with me. He gave me a lot of advice – he’s a got a twin brother and he explained how there’s only support and no competition between them. No matter what happens, they always have each others backs. There’s a lot of similarity between myself and Lewie there so that meant a lot.

“You can see the quality in the first team – the players know exactly where the next pass is going to be. You want Joelinton to be on your team, otherwise you’re never going to get the ball. The experience of being around that environment taught me so much.

“I spent a decade at Newcastle and I’ll always be grateful for their support during my development.”

At the start of the season, Miley moved away from home for the first time in his career, joining Newport County on loan.

The midfielder played eight times for the League Two side before returning to the North East in January.

“I learned a lot from my time there,” he stated.

“I remember getting a call two days before the window shutting about the move. The next day, I had my bags packed and I was moving to Wales.

“I didn’t know much about the area, it was a massive learning experience. Moving down there and going into a new dressing room, it was tough but I took a lot away from it.

“I was unlucky with injuries and it didn’t go how I wanted it to, but it played a big role in my development.”

Now, Miley is fully focused on his next challenge at Hartlepool United.

The midfielder has been in door for just over a week, but has already made a spontaneous impact after scoring a 96th minute equaliser against Braintree Town on his debut.

With three home games coming up, Miley can’t wait for his first appearance at the Prestige Group Stadium.

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far,” he said.

“I’ve felt like I’ve been here for years, that’s how welcoming the lads have been.

“I was buzzing with the goal last week, it was a perfect way to make my debut. It helped massively with my confidence and it was a great to introduce myself.

“We picked up a big win at Sutton at the weekend, hopefully we can continue picking up points and challenging for the play-offs.”