Former Sunderland winger Luke Molyneux believes he has become a better player as a result of his release from the Stadium of Light back in 2019. Molyneux came through the Black Cats academy, making his first team debut in 2018 for Sunderland against Wolves at the end of the 2017/18 Championship campaign.
While the club had been already relegated to League One at that point, Molyneux played all 90 minutes in Sunderland's 3-0 home win over the league champions Wolves. He made two appearances for Sunderland the following year before being released at the end of the 2019 campaign which led to him joining Hartlepool United where he spent the second half of that season at on loan.
Regular football in the National League with Hartlepool allowed Molyneux to hone his craft, making him a better player. Following their promotion back to the Football League in 2021, Molyneux and the Pools secured a 17th placed finish in League One - with the winger bagging 12 goals in 55 appearances.
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Recently, Molyneux has signed for Doncaster Rovers, who were relegated from League One last season, and the 24-year-old believes his release from Sunderland was potentially one of the best things to happen to him. “If I hadn’t been released from Sunderland, ended up in the National League with Hartlepool then worked my way back up, I don’t think I’d be the player I am today," Molyneux told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
"I’ve improved on a lot of things and overcome a lot to become a better person as well as a better player. It (being released by Sunderland) was a bit of a shock.
"I went out on loan that season to Gateshead and I felt there was no reason why Sunderland shouldn’t have kept me on. Luckily Craig Hignett at Hartlepool wanted me.
"I was enjoying it but I had a big injury and when I came back, Craig Hignett wasn’t the manager. Sunderland had a real good age group when we were 16, it was tipped to be the next best thing after Jordan Henderson’s but not a lot of players have made it through, which is quite mad.
"Ethan Robson’s just signed for MK Dons, there was George Honeyman and (Portsmouth’s) Denver Hume but not a lot are in the league or even playing football. I want football as my full-time job so I’ll just keep pushing on.
"I was confident I was going to make that step eventually but you always have doubts when you get released. Even when we got promoted from the National League, I didn’t know if I was going to be staying at Hartlepool because I didn’t play as much as I wanted.
"The aim was always to play as high as I can and if I made the step to League One it had to be with a club that could keep me there. I feel this club [Doncaster Rovers] is on the up and can help me get to League One. The (longer-term) ambition is to get to the Championship."
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