Tyler Roberts outlines where he sees himself playing for Cobblers and the qualities he'll bring to the team
Tyler Roberts sees himself playing in a central role for the Cobblers, either as a nine or 10, as he aims to get fans ‘off their seats' following his arrival on loan from Birmingham.
The 25-year-old, who will spend the season at Sixfields, has played a variety of roles across the front-line during his career but he hopes to establish himself as regular starter down the middle for Jon Brady’s team.
"The team played a 4-2-3-1 against Burton at the weekend so I probably see myself as a number nine or a number 10 and somewhere down the centre of the pitch,” said Roberts.
"I've played almost everywhere over my career. Even at the start of this season I was playing in a deeper midfield position, which was unnatural to me, but I’ve become more a number 10 or a ‘nine-and-a-half’ as my agent likes to call it. That's where I'm most comfortable and I think I can impact the game either at nine or 10.”
On his best qualities, Roberts added: "I'm a player that likes to get on the half turn and drive forward. I like to create things and attack defenders one v one and shift the ball and get shots off.
"I'm hoping to show the fans a lot of creativity and explosiveness and hopefully I can get them off their seats and make them excited."
Roberts cannot expect to become a starter for Brady unless he’s willing to roll up his sleeves and work hard, as he saw for himself when watching Saturday’s draw with Burton Albion from the stands.
"I watched the team on Saturday and first and foremost the team is hard-working and that's what the fans love the most,” he added. “Everyone here is working for each other and battling and that's something I'm more than happy to do.
"I've done that all through my career and I've always got stuck in and there's sparks of quality all over the pitch. It was quite a scrappy game but the midfield two controlled the game and I can see where we can create chances and put good quality into the box and play good football.”