Jacob Hazel interview: There is already a great culture building at Chester
The Blues striker speaks on return from injury, dressing room, and confidence
For Jacob Hazel, this pre-season has taken on more significance than most.
Towards the end of the 2024/25 National League season, Hazel, one of the first signings of the Phil Parkinson era at Chester this summer, suffered an ACL injury that would see him miss almost the entirety of the 2024/25 season with Boston United.
A pre-season missed, with knee surgery required to repair the ACL, Hazel, 32, had to spend much of last year and the early part of 2026 rehabilitating, doing what he could to get back out onto the pitch and contribute for the Pilgrims as he could.
On March 24 this year he returned, emerging from the bench for the final five minutes in a home draw with Altrincham. From then on, he would play four more times and net twice for Boston, where he was a firm fans’ favourite.
Exiting the Jakemans Stadium wasn’t wholly unexpected for Hazel, whose spells at the likes of Boston, Darlington, Whitby Town, Frickley Athletic and Scarborough Athletic have yielded an impressive goals to games ratio, with the big striker having plundered 103 goals in 239 games during his career, which began at Chesterfield in 2012.
With a return to pre-season training for the first time since the summer of 2024, Hazel is pumped up for a new challenge with the Blues.
