Hoskins keen to build on impressive Sixfields debut

The 22-year-old, who was released by Yeovil Town at the end of last season, initially joined the club in pre-season on a short trial period, during which time he impressed sufficiently for Chris Wilder to bring him to Sixfields permanently.

Hoskins made his competitive debut as a substitute in the win over Bristol Rovers on Saturday before starting his first Northampton game in the Capital One Cup against Blackpool, where he was one of the standout performers in an excellent team display.

“It coudn’t have gone much better.” he said afterwards. “We got off to a good start and created a lot of chances early on.

“It was just about taking that first chance to get a goal and once it went in we settled down, created lots of chances and I think we deserved to score at least three.

“It was a really good team performance and really encouraging for us. I felt we were on top for most of the game and we could have had more than the three which is really encouraging.

“We have a strong group here and it’s a good platform to build upon and also good for the fans to see that sort of performance.

“We were creating all the chances and that’s a good sign. We have a really strong group and I think this season will be a good one for us if we can carry on from the way we’ve started.”

The former Southampton youth player has struggled to find a permanent home in his short career having had brief spells at Preston, Rotherham and Stevenage, but he’s hoping Tuesday’s goal is the first of many at Sixfields.

“It was important to get my first goal early,” he added. “As a striker you need to get off the mark as soon as possible.

“Hopefully now I keep getting chances and I keep taking them and hopefully I’ll score as many as I can to push us up the league and get us promoted.

“I think I’ve shown what I can do tonight and the manager knows what I’m capable of. He’s obviously going to pick what’s best for the team come Saturday so we need to focus on the league again now and get another three points and show the fans what we can do.

“There’s a fair few new faces around, myself being one, and the lads have gelled together really well.

“It’s a tight-knit squad and we spent a lot of time together which is a good sign for us because I think it’s important to have a close squad so we can do well in the league and all the cup competitions.

“It’s also the way we work together as a team – we all want to work hard and do well for each other. It’s easy to play as well as we are when we’re working that hard and we’re all putting in 100 per cent.

“It’s a hard place to come here whoever you are and we’re not going to be pushed over by anyone.”

Hoskins also praised his new striker partner Dominic Calvert-Lewin after the pair linked up well during Tuesday’s performance.

“Dom’s a really good player,” added Hoskins. “He only came on Friday but he works hard and he’s easy to play with and we work well together.

“It’s all about working hard as a team and now we’ll see what the team is on Saturday, but I think all over the pitch we played really well this evening and we’ll now build on that.”

When asked who he’d like to face in the next round of the League Cup, Hoskins continued: “Anyone to be honest. Whoever we get we’ll just focus on the result.

“Our game plan doesn’t change so whoever we have we’ll focus on it.

“But now we’ve got to concentrate on Saturday and look to get another three points. We’ve got to rebuild and see what we need to do and what we need to work on for Exeter.

“Two wins from two is a really good start but we can’t rest on our laurels – we need to push on and go for another win.”