It was there where he developed into a good shot-stopper and he was offered a professional contract by the then manager Chris Turner in 2001.

For the remainder of the season Provett struggled to dislodge Anthony Williams who played in all of Hartlepool's league games.

During the following 2003–04 season Provett was handed his opportunity to impress in the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday.

He started the first few games of the season but soon faced stiff competition from Dimitrious Konstantopolous who eventually overtook him as Hartlepool's first choice keeper.

As the season approached its final quarter Provett handed in a transfer request due to lack of first team appearances.

However, he withdrew this request the week before Hartlepool played the second leg of the play-off semi-final.