Hartlepool have been breaking club records all season and look set to claim their first league title in their 99-year history. With promotion already assured, Danny Wilson’s men are just two games away from lifting the League Two title. One man who has been pivotal to their success is uncompromising centre half Michael Nelson who crowned an excellent campaign by being voted into the League Two divisional team of the year at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Sunday evening. Givemefootball's Ian Clarkson caught up with Nelson for an exclusive chat in the Jeeves Suite as he looked forward to a successful climax to their campaign.
Q:HOW HAS THE SEASON GONE SO FAR?
A:It has been good personally and getting in the PFA team of the year is brilliant. It is down to what happens on a team level and having gained promotion we have now got our sights set on the league.
Q:YOUR SUCCESS HAS BEEN BUILT ON A LOT OF CLEAN SHEETS HASN'T IT?
A:We had a great run after starting the season slowly but if you were going to pick a way to do it then you would rather finish strongly rather than slowly. The back four and the keeper tried to set ourselves a target to Christmas to try and keep ten clean sheets and then to try and double that by the end of the season. We achieved the ten by Christmas and were really pleased with that and we have kicked on from there.
Q:CAN HARTLEPOOL SURVIVE AND THRIVE AT A HIGHER LEVEL?
A:We have proved ourselves in League One and had two great seasons until relegation as we made the play-offs twice. We have got the fan base and the club is very secure financially. You see quite a lot of clubs in the lower leagues struggling financially and if you look at Boston at present then there is a lot of trouble down there and we have never had that problem in the four years I have been at the club. We have been getting gates of around 6,000 recently, and were getting decent gates even when things weren't going so well.
Q:WHAT IS DANNY WILSON LIKE AS A MANAGER?
A:Danny Wilson has been brilliant. We didn't start the season very well but his mood has never changed from the start of the league to where we are now. He has been calm and composed and he has never put any pressure on the lads. He talks sense and the way he puts things across to you he simplifies the game. You hear it all the time that football is a simple game but it is complicated by idiots! The gaffer keeps it simple and he doesn't tell you what to do he asks you what you should be doing. Instead of talking at you he asks you so you recognise what you should be doing. That is a big thing as it is someone guiding you rather than bossing you about. We have quite a few experienced players but there are a lot of young lads coming through and it is important that they don't get bossed about but to learn the game and brought up in the game.
Q:IT HAS BEEN A GOOD SEASON FOR YOU PERSONALLY AS WELL HASN'T IT?
A:I am pleased with my own form but I don't think there is one player in the squad who won't be happy with their form this season. We have all contributed really well. From lads who have been here from the start of the season to lads who have joined half way through. The gaffer's dealt with what he had and the additions he has made have been really telling such as Andy Monkhouse and Richie Barker. We also signed Gary Liddle from Middlesbrough who nobody knew anything about when we signed him but he has been brilliant. Willie Boland has been brilliant too and the gaffer has got the best out of all the players this season and you can't ask for any more than that.
