THE opinion on a goalkeeper can swing either way in the blink of an eye. You can be the hero of the afternoon with saving a last minute penalty or with misplaced kick, it can be a very lonely place.

Ben Killip has ticked both of those boxes in his time at Hartlepool United but entering his third season at the club and achieving promotion last season, he shines out as one of the senior figureheads at the club at the age of 25.

The coveted number one shirt at Hartlepool has always been one that’s placed under scrutiny. Since making the big move from Braintree, a club destined for National League South, he now finds himself in a position where the place between the sticks is his to keep for years to come in the football league.

There has plenty of valuable lessons he’s learned over the course of his short career. Like how important a goalkeeper’s mindset is and how mistakes can happen at any moment. Killip is a man who reminds himself of that constantly.

Killip said: “It’s obviously difficult when you’re a keeper. You’re the last sign of defence and if you’re not playing well everybody is looking at you because results aren’t going our way and most of the time, it can be your fault.

“At this point in time, I think I’ve done well to keep the shirt but then that’s only this point in time. Things can change and things can happen beyond this. I’m delighted that I’ve managed to stay in the team and I hope that continues.

“The more you get older and the more you play games, the more you come to terms with that (mistakes) and learn to accept it whereas young keepers, you see a lot of the time, they’re chasing things and they are trying to do too much to prove that they are a good keeper instead of letting the games come to them.

“I think that’s the main thing, accepting that’s the game.

“The way we play, I’m not overloaded with shots and there is no need to go and try to prove to myself every game the things I can do or what I’m capable of doing and just let things to come to me.

“I think that’s something that’s come into my game the older I’ve got, in the last couple of years especially.

“I don’t really like setting targets because you end up just getting bogged down by them. It’s things that are out of your control if someone picks up a ball from 20 yards out and whacks it into the top corner and there’s nothing you can do about it. You end up beating yourself up over not achieving your goals.

“For me it’s just about trying to stay in the moment and affecting what I can. Not trying to overcontrol what I can on the pitch which was a problem with me when I was younger. I’d get affected by things like that, by goals conceded even though there was nothing I could do.

“For me and my game, it was imperative that I had to let go of the things I can’t and be able to just control what I can and affect."

There are plenty of different demands placed on the modern goalkeeper these days. The man between the sticks is also expected to be just as good with their feet as well as their hands.

For a man who’s been brought up through one of the most illustrious academies in the world, he says it’s almost come natural to him.

“I think that was from when I was a kid at Chelsea” Killip added.

“You’re a footballer before you’re a keeper and that was a big thing for me, playing out. It’s always been one of my strengths.

“I’ve always tried to stay on top of that. I played a lot of 23’s games in my time where it’s false football in a way and the majority of it is playing out from the back and passing.

“I’ve had times where I’ve been injured like with a wrist and I’ve been training outfield for three months straight. At the time it’s frustrating but it’s quite good fun. Just playing up front and getting on the end of everything.”

Killip is a lively and friendly character in the dressing room and has felt like an accepted Poolie over the course of his time in the North-East. But people are always a bit friendlier up north (as they say) and that shows within the comradery at the club.

The shot stopper said: “I think I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes but the morale at the club is brilliant.

“We’ve got a really close knit team. I’ve been at a lot of clubs where you get cliques within the group and in the dressing room and some people speak to some people and not really the other people.

“You get into groups but I don’t feel like that’s the case here. I feel like everyone is mates with everyone and we are all pushing for the same thing. I think that’s apparent last season and why we did so well. Again this season, it’s why we’ve started so well and we can push on to go further.”