Teenage winger Hakeeb Adelakun says his aims for 2015 are simple, score more and play more.
That was said after coming on seven minutes from time to grab the Iron a much deserved point at Bradford City last Saturday.The 18-year-old was thrown in to the thick of it by manager Mark Robins in place of Gary McSheffrey on the 83rd minute, and with his first attempt on goal, he slipped the ball past Bantams keeper Jordan Pickford after some trickery down the wing.
Adelakun told The Iron Player about his targets for the New Year, saying: “I want to score more goals. Score more goals and get more playing time, they are my only targets really.”
The goal in stoppage time was only his second of the season after his strike against Walsall in August, and Adelakun spoke more about what the goal meant to him, and what it meant to the team as a whole.
He said: “I’ve been waiting for a while. Things haven’t really been coming off for me lately, but today I’m glad things finally paid off for me.
"Things are going great (within the team). Everyone is with it together and everyone is putting in the right effort.”
Adelakun spoke about the teams resilience and will to chase the game down until the bitter end.
He said: “We kept on coming back the whole of the second half. We made sure we kept the pressure on them, and eventually we were rewarded with the goal in the end.”
The Iron are up to 18th with that point, and with a game in hand, they lie only four points short of the top half of the table, a place Adelakun believes is a realistic target for the team.
Adelakun stated: “I definitely think we can get in to the top half. We have to keep on pushing, keep on pressing, and keep making sure we are working as hard as possible. I think we will get there.”
A fantastic 485 fans travelled from North Lincolnshire (and around the country) to cheer on the team, with their voices loud and clear in the Coral Windows Stadium, and Adelakun highly appreciates the supporters coming in their numbers once again.
Adelakun added: “They were great, our away fans always are. They are always loud with their cheering, and also the battles they have with the other fans are great! They are always with us.”
Competition for places is so high, with the loan players returning after their ineligibility in the FA Cup, but Adelakun says he relishes the chance to fight for his place, and knows what he has to do to stay in the squad.
He said: “Competition keeps everyone on their toes. It makes sure everyone goes at it in training. No-one can let up for a single minute or your place gets taken, so it is great having a large squad.”
Scunthorpe United extended their unbeaten run to eight in all tournaments, starting from November 1st against Peterborough, and Adelakun told us that although it will be difficult to keep this run up over the rest of the winter, the team are in good shape to give it as good a go as possible.
He told us: “It is difficult over this period, but it’s what you sign up for. We need to just keep on going, especially around the couple of days either side of Christmas, they are hard. The manager has got us in on Christmas morning, as it is demanding around that time. There is a lot of games and a bit less training, but we’ll definitely keep going."
See much more from Hakeeb Adelakun, Liam O'Neil and Mark Robins on The Iron Player.