Pollock just so happy to be back on a football pitch again

For most players, Saturday's opening pre-season friendly against Northampton Sileby Rangers was nothing more than gentle run-out designed to shake off the cobwebs.

But for young midfielder Scott Pollock it represented a significant milestone. The 20-year-old was finally back on a football pitch, 18 months after he last played a game of any kind.

"It's been nearly a year and a half now since I last played an actual match so it felt great to be back again," he said after Town's 6-0 win.

"I've only really been back for pre-season. I joined in after the injury for maybe a week, two weeks, at the end of last season, but obviously you can't replicate a proper match.

"It was only 45 minutes on Saturday but I'm still aching! It's just been too long, especially for a kid like me who just loves playing football every second.

"I've really missed it so it just felt really good to finally be back out there again and be back with the boys as we build towards the new season."

Cobblers were unsurprisingly easy winners at Fernie Fields but things go from one extreme to the other this week with Premier League West Ham United visiting Sixfields on Tuesday.

"We're obviously expected to win these games but it was still a tough workout and all the boys put in a good shift and now we've got another one on Tuesday so we need to rest and recover," added Pollock.

"Pre-season has been going really well so far, I think we have a good bunch of players and it's just been about getting to know each other and building a team for the season.

"I'm looking forward to the West Ham game. They're a Premier League team and they had a good season last year so it will be a good experience to play against them."