Eppiah eager for a start after Leicester loanee dazzles off the bench against Scunthorpe

As cameos go, Josh Eppiah’s sparkling brief run-out at Scunthorpe United on Tuesday evening was about as eye-catching as it gets.

On a night when Cobblers laboured against the division’s bottom team in an attritional game on a difficult pitch, Eppiah was a much-needed and not insignificant positive for Jon Brady and supporters to cling to.

The 23-year-old, who was returning from a calf injury, injected quality and impetus into an otherwise subpar team performance and sparked Town's faltering attack into life.

In the 73 minutes before his arrival, Cobblers had barely threatened United’s goal. In the next 26 minutes - if you include nine minutes of stoppage-time - they created three clear chances, all of which Eppiah was central to.

One effort was cleared off the line, another had to brilliantly blocked, with Paul Lewis firing the rebound wide, and a third he flashed across the face of goal with only a touch needed to divert the ball goalwards.

“I was happy with how it went out there,” said the Leicester City loanee. “It was nice to get back on the pitch with the lads.

“The team have done so well in the last few games and I was pleased with my performance when I came on.

“But when you don’t score, you’re never happy as a striker! I went close a few times.

“I’m not going to stand here and make excuses but the pitch was difficult so with the one that was cleared off the line, I just tried to take more care with the shot and make sure I hit the target.

“But unfortunately there just wasn’t enough pace on the ball. The lads were saying that if the pitch had been a bit better, it might have gone in!”

The clamour for Eppiah to start against Rochdale on Saturday has already begun and Brady must be hugely tempted to put him in from the off at Spotland given Danny Rose’s ongoing struggles and Louis Appere’s injury.

But it’s not a straightforward call. Eppiah’s technical quality and dynamism on the ball adds a different dimension to Town's attack but Brady will not want to risk further injury.

The man himself said: “I’m not really one to go knocking on the manager’s door but I always try to do my best whenever I get on the pitch.

“When you do your best, you will get your opportunities.

“I do feel like I’m fit enough to start.

“I have been managed really well since I came here and in terms of my body and my lungs, I think I would be fine to play 90 minutes.”

Before Eppiah’s introduction on Tuesday, the Cobblers had been unable to make any inroads against a team who had lost nine of their previous 10 games.

“As a team, the players know this was not our strongest performance,” Eppiah admitted.

“But even though we weren’t at our best, we still kept a clean sheet and came out with a point and I feel the lads did quite well in the end.

“We did have our chances but it’s just one of those things, we can’t moan about it or dwell on it, we just need to get on the training pitch on Thursday and train hard for Saturday’s game.

“If we can win on Saturday, it would make it a good week.”

Eppiah has now been at Sixfields for nearly a month and so far things are going well, despite a calf injury that briefly halted his progress.

“It’s been a very warm welcome,” he continued. “Everyone is friendly, all the lads and the staff, and it’s a good club to be at.

“I definitely think we can finish in the top three this season. I see it with the lads and the energy on the training ground and everyone is up for it.

“Maybe Tuesday was not our best performance but we’re already looking to bounce back at the weekend and I definitely think we can get promotion.”