Hartlepool United v Bradford City: Kian Harratt ready to make up for lost time after early set-back to Bantams’ career

Kian Harratt’s first big one as a Bradford City striker has left him playing catch-up this season but the Huddersfield Town loanee is confident he can in what he points out is a long season.

A daft incident with Jonathan Mitchell saw Harratt red-carded at the end of his debut against Doncaster Rovers but having returned impressively from his three-game ban as a midweek substitute at Colchester United in midweek, he hopes to finally make his first start at Hartlepool United today.

Not that the 20-year-old from Pontefract is making a song and dance about it.

“I’ll just try my hardest on the training pitch and see what happens,” he says.

Harratt comes across as a man of few words but thinks those he said aftermath of his red card could be important.

“I apologised afterwards, I think the gaffer (Mark Hughes) liked that,” he says. “He didn’t go too mad with me. It’s a mistake, I’m still young, but we learn.”

With the God-given talent he has, if Harratt can learn, he will be an exciting prospect.

Although he only scored three goals on loan at Port Vale last season, one opened the scoring at Wembley in the play-off final.

Vale assistant manager Andy Crosby compared him to Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp.

“It’s a good compliment - he’s a good finisher isn’t he?” says Harratt. “I’m like a fox in the box. If you put it in the box I’ll score goals, simple as that.

“(Huddersfield) want me to get as many goals as possible and continue growing and learning. With the gaffer, I think that’ll help me.

“Now I know how to play in the league, how the defenders work. Hopefully I can get quite a lot of goals this season.”