HOSKINS HUNGRY TO FIRE COBBLERS
MANAGER Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has plenty of experience to offer the returning Sam Hoskins, but the Northampton Town striker insists it’s not just the former Dutch international he can turn to for advice.
The 24-year-old grew up watching his current manager bang in the goals for Chelsea in the Premier League and is looking to follow in his footsteps.
Hoskins is on his way back from a serious knee injury, which he suffered in January, and his club are in desperate need of an upturn in fortunes.
The Cobblers entered the weekend just one spot off the bottom of the division and four points away from safety, having managed just ten goals in their opening 14 league games.
And, while Hoskins eager to learn as much as possible from Hasselbaink, he knows there is plenty of experience he can absorb from his teammates as well.
“It’s good for us to have someone like Hasselbaink in charge,” said Hoskins. “He knows what it takes to play in the top flight and that’s always encouraging.
“It’s not just him, though. There are players in our squad that have plenty of experience you can learn from as well. It’s always good to try to learn off people who have been there and done it.
“That’s a good thing about our squad. We have that mix of experience and youth.
“He (Hasselbaink) has us working very hard to make sure we give ourselves the best chance, when it comes to games, to go and show what we can do. We have the quality of players.
“The manager goes into a lot of detail, which is good for us. It means when it comes to games we know exactly how to play. We are very confident in each other and the squad we have.”
Shield
It’s been a long wait for Hoskins to return to first team action. He made his first start since rupturing his knee in Northampton’s 1-0 defeat by Wimbledon last weekend. He’d previously made a few substitute appearances. It was an innocuouslooking challenge that led to the eight-month break and he spent much of the summer at the club, while everyone else was on their holidays. He said: “I was in training and went to nick the ball from behind someone. As they saw me, they have gone to shield the ball, knocked me one way and my leg stayed forward, which twisted it as I fell backwards. “I worked very closely with the physio, Anders Braastad. I had to go in quite a lot over the summer to keep my rehab going, but it was something I needed to do. “I never thought ‘it’s a bit annoying’, because I wanted to be back playing as quickly as possible. “Mostly it was only me and the physio in. Everyone was off on their holidays, but I did manage to get away. The physio and club thought it would be good to let me get away and clear my head.” Now, Hoskins is targeting goals, pulling Northampton out of the relegation zone as well as putting the injury as far to the back of his mind as possible.
Assists
“I don’t want to think about the injury,” added the former Yeovil striker. “I want to get as many games as possible and help push us up the league.
“If I can score some goals and get some assists that will be good. I feel as fit and strong as I have been so now I want to push on.”