Former United youngster Josh Donaldson is looking forward to the next step in his career after joining Dunston on loan from Hartlepool
Josh Donaldson of Newcastle United
Josh Donaldson of Newcastle United(Image: Newcastle United via Getty Image)
Former Newcastle United youngster Josh Donaldson has already kickstarted the painstaking process of bouncing back from the heartache of release.
The 19-year-old striker has been a regular feature in Magpies academy sides in recent season and featured alongside the likes of Garang Kuol, Trevan Sanusi and Alfie Harrison for United’s second string last season.
However, his time with his boyhood club came to a close earlier this summer when he was named on a list of players that would not be handed a new contract.
To his credit, Donaldson has already moved on from bitter disappointment after putting pen-to-paper on a contract at Hartlepool United following a successful trial period with the National League side.
He will now work under former Sunderland and Leeds United manager Simon Grayson at the Prestige Group Stadium as he takes the next step in his career - and has already set his sights on progressing back up the football food chain.
He told ChronicleLive: “I’ve had a tough couple of months after I left Newcastle because you wonder where your future is going to take you.
“There is self-doubt that can creep in when that happens but you have to keep believing in yourself and it’s always tough going into a new environment on trial.
“I have the right people around me with my friends and family. They kept pushing me when doubt crept in and they helped me keep believing in myself.
“Then the lads at Hartlepool, the players, the staff, the gaffer, they’ve all helped me massively and they’ve let me be myself by proving I can play football and earned a deal.
“Newcastle is my boyhood club so it was difficult and I’ve still got a season ticket.
“It was tough being told that I was being released but I know it’s part of football and I quickly moved on to what could come next.
“I’ll still be going to games when I can but it’s now about the future and the plan is to start working my way back up as a player.”
Donaldson made a quick exit from Hartlepool after they opted to send the striker on a season-long loan to Northern Premier League East Division club Dunston UTS.
However, the youngster will continue to train alongside his Pools team-mates during the week and he is relishing the opportunity to learn from some experienced figures within the setup at the National League club.
He explained “The gaffer has had a great career as a player and manager and there are some really experienced strikers in there like Danny Johnson and Alex Reid, there are people like Jamie Miley, who I knew from Newcastle. He’s helped me a lot when I first went in on trial.
“It’s just a great environment to go into and that played a big part in choosing to go to Hartlepool because I think I can learn a lot from the club.”
Donaldson has wasted little time in impressing during his opening week with Dunston after finding the net in pre-season friendlies against Darlington and Morpeth Town in recent days.
The striker is hoping to make the most of the attack-minded focus implemented by highly-rated Dunston boss Jon McDonald and has set his focus on finding the net on a regular basis in non-league football’s fourth tier.
He said: “I’ve had a couple of training sessions with Dunston and I’ve played in a couple of games and I’m really enjoying it.
“The manager has told me how he wants to play, that’s why I’ve come here because he wants to play attacking football, he wants goals and we’ve played two games against higher opposition and we have done well.
“They create chances, I’ve come here to score goals and that’s why I’ve come here.”
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