Striker can’t wait for curtain-raiser at Northampton Town following solid pre-season.
Striker Liam Hearn is relishing the opportunity to make his Football League debut at Northampton Town on Saturday, following a pre-season which he says has gone ‘better than expected’.In his first appearance in Stags’ colours, Hearn came off the bench and fired us to a 2-0 home victory over Leeds United, before he also struck twice in a 3-1 success over Lincoln City.
With the new season just two days away, the hitman is raring to go.
“I’m very excited,” said Hearn. “Coming through pre-season, getting over my injury and getting games as I have done [has been great]. I’ve chipped in with a couple of goals, the lads are raring to go and I can’t wait for it.
“I think [pre-season] has gone better than we could have hoped.
“We’ve had a few set-backs which are always good and it’s important that you have set-backs because they help you realise what you’re going wrong.
“It’s not always the best when everything goes swimmingly, because when you come across something bad in the season, you don’t necessarily know how to react, whereas I think we know where we’re at now, we can progress and take that into the season.”
The 28-year-old completed a full 90 minutes in a behind-closed-doors match at Derby County in midweek, scoring twice as our team came from 3-0 down at the break to secure a remarkable 4-3 victory.
“The gaffer wanted to bring me off after about 60 minutes, but I felt really good,” continued Hearn. “We were getting back into the game and I asked him to persevere with me to see how I went and I managed to get through the full 90 minutes.”
Asked if he still worries about his injury troubles over the last two years, he added: “I’m quite strong-minded so I keep pushing myself and I know that if there is discomfort I can get through, but obviously if there’s pain then I can’t.
“It’s about finding that balance. Fortunately I’ve done that now after two bad injuries, so hopefully I’ll just ‘kick on’ now.”
