HAVING enjoyed a blistering start in front of goal to his second Town stint, things for Jonathan Obika have not been as successful in that department of late.

His last goal was an important one, the last-minute winner at Doncaster in mid-March, but it was only his second since the turn of year.

In the former Tottenham man’s defence his opportunities had been limited, with Andy Williams and Michael Smith apparently higher in the pecking order until recently.

However Obika has started the last three games and done well. In Saturday’s defeat to Yeovil he was one of the few players to emerge with any credit.

It would be harsh to axe the 24-year-old from the starting XI against Walsall tonight, especially with Town’s promotion hopes now essentially resting on their confirmed play-off place.

With boss Mark Cooper now able to experiment, Obika is hoping he is persisted with as he looks to rebuild confidence in his goalscoring ability.

“Goals are very important to me and I think the next goal will be vital for my own confidence,” Obika told the local media.

“As a striker you want to impose yourself on the game, you want to be effective and we always look at goals - we want to score goals in every game.

“That’s always the target.

“Physically and mentally I feel very fresh and very hungry.

“I feel I’m affecting games. As a team we’ll always look for the results and the win, but the performances are very important.

“I’m very thankful for the gaffer’s faith and the management’s faith.”