IAN Hodges believes he can deliver the goals to be save Hampton & Richmond Borough from relegation if he can shrug off the injuries that have blighted his season.
The 27-year-old former Slough Town hit-man has not started a Blue Square South League match since the end of October, when he cracked a hat-trick against Maidenhead United.
Recurring hamstring problems have restricted him to substitute appearances. But Hodges showed that he is regaining his sharpness by notching the winner in the 1-0 win at Bishops Stortford two weeks ago.
He said: “The only reason that I have not been starting any games is because of injuries. I have only started a handful since I came back from a double hernia in the summer.
“I am still not 100 per cent right, and I have had a hamstring injury for the last couple of months. It’s just about keeping myself fit and coping with it.
“I have started only six or seven games, but I have scored five goals, and confidence in scoring goals is not my problem.”
Hampton slipped closer to the relegation trapdoor with Saturday’s 4-0 thumping at home to champions-elect Newport County – and Hodges warned that Alan Devonshire’s men are not too good to go down.
Hodges has known only success at the club as they have challenged for promotion twice after coming up from the Ryman Premier. But this campaign has been completely different.
He said: “We have to raise our games every week, not just for the teams around us.
“Not so long ago, we thought we would be in a relegation fight as we thought we were too good for it. But we are definitely in it now and a few of us need to wake up and realise that.
“The silly errors we have been making were happening even when we had our full squad down here. It is hard when you are stuck in a rut and confidence is low.”
Meanwhile, a late Dave Tarpey strike earned Hampton a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Weston-Super-Mare on Tuesday night.
