Cobblers duo hail super Sam after Hoskins dazzles again

Hoskins has been a revelation this season and sparkled once again at the weekend when his pace and directness bamboozled and mesmerised a Bury defence that struggled to contain him all afternoon, none more so than when Niall Maher hauled him to the ground for a second-half penalty.

The only downside to Hoskins’ performance was his wayward finishing that saw him miss three decent chances but he still did enough to win the praise of both his manager and experienced midfielder Taylor.

“I think he always looks a threat,” said Page. “There’s nothing better in my opinion than watching him glide through the middle of the park when he’s got the ball.

“He’s a threat for any defender at this level and I think defenders are petrified to lay a finger on him when he’s running at pace.

“It’s a fantastic attribute to have.

“We had pace in the team on Saturday. We had Rico with his experience up top, JJ Hooper had pace on the outside, Ando’s clever with his movement, but Sam gives us that extra dimension and he’s been outstanding for us.”

Taylor, who was another star performer on Saturday, added: “I don’t think Sam’s such a prospect any more because of his age but he’s playing with fantastic confidence and you can see that in his game.

“He’s coming into training every day with his shoulders back and a big smile on his face so it’s great to see him play well and get a good run in the team.

“He was overly critical of himself afterwards because he probably should have scored and he wanted to get on the score sheet but all in all we’ve taken a good three points.”