Supersub Will Hatfield has a dilemma. The 20-year-old is desperate to secure a place in the Reds starting line-up but, while he keeps scoring when coming on as a substitute, he may be seen as the ideal ‘impact player’.
His winner on Saturday against AFC Wimbledon made it three goals off the bench in Paul Cook’s 11 games in charge.
And the former Leeds United youngster, while enjoying the ‘supersub’ tag, also wants to get rid of it.
He said: "Since I scored the two goals in two games against Port Vale and Bradford I’ve been coming on all the time and it’s been nice.
"I’m keen to get on and make an impact and if we’re losing or drawing I want to come on and be the matchwinner.
"Obviously I was on Saturday and that’s great.
"I’ll take the ‘supersub’ tag and the fact I came on on Saturday and scored again means this reputation is going to go on for a bit now. I do get quite a bit of stick with it in the changing rooms as they call me ‘supersub’ and all that but I accept that if I get the goals!
"I have been coming on for a bit longer and I am just glad I have taken the opportunity."
Hatfield came on loan earlier in the season under then manager John Coleman but found his chances limited.
But, after his release from Leeds in January, he signed for the Reds permanently and thanks to the goals, he admits he is now a different player.
"The goals have given me loads of confidence," he admits. "When I’m coming onto the pitch, I’m playing with confidence and for a footballer, playing with confidence is the main thing.
"It has been tough getting into the team as they have been playing well and just not getting the results.
"It means that when I come on I’ve just got to try to do the best I can – and scoring is exactly what you want to do when you come on. You want to make an impact and there’s no better way than scoring is there?"
He admits he is desperate to cement a place in the starting 11 but he is also willing to bide his time. "It’s down to the gaffer whether I get a start or not," said the Yorkshire-born midfielder.
"If I carry on coming on for the last 15 or 20 minutes and keep scoring then I’m more than happy to do that.
"But obviously I’d love to be starting and there aren’t many games left now.¿Hopefully I can get a bit of a run in the side from now until the end of the season."
And he is hopeful for next season too as Cook has said Hatfield is one of the players he wants in for his first full campaign in charge at the Crown Ground.
"The manager’s told me I’ve got a bright future here so I’m guessing that hopefully I will be here next season but obviously we’ll have to see how things go.
"As long as I keep doing well there’s no reason why I can’t be here again next season.
"I’m hoping for a bit of security and that’s what I’ve been looking for for a while. Obviously I need to prove myself to get that security and I suppose if I keep scoring that’s got to help."
He admitted Saturday’s win was just what was needed after a lean run has seen the Reds drop from being play-off contenders into mid-table.
"All the lads are buzzing after the win. Results before this have been a bit unfortunate. We’ve played well and the gaffer and Leam (Richardson) have been so positive, even with the defeats.
"It’s been good and on Saturday we deserved a win that’s been coming for a while.
"My personal goal now is to get as many minutes on the pitch as I possibly can and make and impact. As a team we’ve just got to take it game by game and win every game if we can.
"We know it’s going to be tough but we want to get on the best run we can."
