Powerful striker Michael Rae was a regular goalscorer at youth and reserve levels for three seasons, a record that saw him awarded a professional contract in 2007. Despite his prolific record he was unable to force his way into the first team picture, and did not make it as far as the bench. At the end of the 2007/08 season, during which his only first team football had been in a loan spell at Blue Square North promotion chasers Southport, he was released by the club.Rae spent the next five years at a variety of local non-league clubs. He played at Wembley in the FA Vase finals of 2012 and 2013, losing with West Auckland before finishing on the winning side with Spennymoor. He also scored twice as Great Britain lost 3-2 to France in the final of the World University Games in July 2013. Five weeks later he was back at Pools as new manager Colin Cooper agreed to offer him a trial. He made the first appearance of this second spell in a reserve match against Doncaster, though this turned out to be his only appearance as the trial came to nothing.