Northampton Town: Sampson lays down the law on Marshall
Ian Sampson is adamant former Town winger Ben Marshall won't steal the headlines when Cobblers take on Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road tomorrow.
Marshall spent the opening three months of this campaign on loan at Sixfields from Stoke City but, after a bright start and the sacking of Stuart Gray, he was dropped to the bench.
The 18-year-old seemed set to extend his spell at the club, with Sampson intending to keep him despite his drop in form, but Potters boss Tony Pulis decided to take his player back to the Britannia Stadium.
Much to the surprise of Sammo and co, though, Marshall joined the Robins a week later and put in a super show on his third start for the club, scoring twice as Cheltenham battered Barnet 5-1.
Now he will be looking to repeat that level of performance against his former team-mates, but Sampson was eager to draw attention away from the wing wizard.
"He's a good player and he's one we have to watch but it's not the Ben Marshall show," said the Cobblers boss.
"I don't think he needs to prove a point to anyone. He's a professional footballer, why would he want to prove a point? He did well for Northampton, he was called back and that's how it is."
The clash against Cheltenham comes four days after the Cobblers suffered a defensive nightmare at home to Hereford United as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat.
The last league victory for Town was more than a month ago at Morecambe, and Sampson admits that the heat is on him and his players to grab a maximum haul.
He added: "We're at the bottom of league two so there is definitely pressure.
"I put pressure on myself because I want Northampton to do well, I want the players to do well and I want Ian Sampson to do well.
"I've always fought back. I've had bad defeats as a player – I can remember getting beat twice by Bury 5-0 when I was playing early on in my career at Northampton – but as an individual I fought back.
"You need people to scrap and stand up and be counted. You're looking for leaders out on the pitch and hopefully they wont let us down."
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Weather for Northampton
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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