KEIGAN Parker admits his long-term football future remains in the air – and in the short-term he just wants to help Hartlepool United stay in League One.

Signed on loan from Huddersfield, where his chances have been limited under Lee Clark, the striker has made seven scoreless appearances for Pools.

While Parker has played his part up front, strike partner Joel Porter has added to his goal tally in Pools’ battle against the drop.

The pair are likely to be tagged together in Saturday’s vital encounter at Crewe.

And, while Porter looks set to leave Victoria Park this summer, Parker will have to return to West Yorkshire before deciding where he will be playing his football next season.

“I want to get games and I’ll wait and see what happens at the beginning of next season,”

he said. “I don’t know if I will be at Huddersfield next season.

It’s not something I’ve spoken to Lee Clark about.

“There is big ambition down there and I’ve still got a year on my contract, so it will need to suit me really if I’m going to be moving on.

“It’s a different kind of battle for me fighting against relegation, but if I didn’t want to be part of it I wouldn’t have extended my loan.

“I’ve played enough games to know that playing firstteam football is better than playing reserve football on a Tuesday and Wednesday night.”

Two more wins should be enough for Pools to secure safety, with Scunthorpe to face at home on Easter Monday.

“We’ve just got to go the Easter programme looking to get points,” he said.

“Joel is a great player at this level. He has scored a lot of goals this season and if he does go obviously it will be a big loss to the club.

“We’ve got good strikers here. Daniel Nardiello has obviously come from a Championship club and he is a proven goalscorer at this level.

“Nothing is set in stone when it comes to your place in the team.

“You’ve got to work hard in training and it’s been good that the manager has given me a run of games but I’m not stupid.

“I’ve been in the game long enough to know that if you are not doing the business then you won’t be in the team.

“If we can cut the errors out hopefully games will be a bit easier to win rather than having to score two, three or four goals like we had to do on Saturday.”