THE 1874 COLUMN - By Matt Waters

SATURDAY’S 4-0 win over Hanley Town saw our record goal scorer Scott McGowan add to his already impressive tally this season as he scored his 25th goal in all competitions.

After the game, I caught up with Scott to discuss all things 74.

There was a clear desire and hunger to make sure we keep winning games.

He said: “I just think so far this season’s been great.

“The lads have all pulled together and with the way we are playing there’s no reason why we can’t start pulling away in the league and keep this momentum going.”

With this being Scott’s second spell with the club, he was delighted when co-managers Paul Bowyer and Wayne Goodison made the call to bring him back.

He added: “I never wanted to leave in the first place so when I was asked to come back, I was over the moon.

“However, our success so far this season is down to keeping the same set of lads together.

“We’ve all bought into the same idea, and it may have taken us a while to get to this point but it’s a huge factor as to why we are where we are today and long may it continue.”

After other results went our way on Saturday, we have now opened up a seven-point gap between us and Bootle and Rylands, however, Scott believes it’s important to keep our momentum going and target the remaining cup competitions too.

He said: “Obviously the league is important, but if we keep going and playing with the passion we are showing there’s no reason why we can’t go on to win a cup.

“As players we all want to win a cup competition and we are currently in a great position to do so.”

Another area Scott felt is a contributor to our excellent performances is because we have various outlets who are capable of scoring goals after Saturday saw us score our 71st league goal.

He commented: “We’ve got goals all over the pitch and it’s not just reliant on one person.

“Sometimes it’s good to play with pressure as it’s my job to get the goals.

“However it’s also a great feeling as a striker knowing I’ve got players around me who can put it on a plate for me, but also find the net themselves.”

Scott also paid tribute to the back four which he believes is ‘one of the best he’s ever played with.’

He continued: “You’ve just got to take your hat off to them when you’ve got Mike Koral, who is usually a winger/forward at right back and Mark Jones who is a midfielder at centre back alongside Lee Jackson who is more comfortable at left back and they’ve become a tight unit especially with a quality keeper like Tony behind them.

“You have to give them all credit to have the best defence in the league.”