Hebburn Town star is the 'best in the league' - but there is still more to come
Gary Martin has been a key figure in Hebburn Town’s push for promotion into the National League North.
Hebburn Town manager Daniel Moore has described Hornets striker Gary Martin as ‘the best in the league’ - but he believes there is more to come from the experienced frontman.
Martin spent the second half of last season with Northern Premier League East side Bishop Auckland after returning from spells in Scandinavia with Icelandic professional clubs Selfoss, IBV and Víkingur Ólafsvík. After making a limited impact with the Two Blues, Martin was a somewhat surprise choice to replace Hebburn talisman Amar Purewal after the Hornets striker joined Northern Premier League Premier Division rivals Stockton Town during the summer.
However, Martin has swept any doubts over his ability throughout a remarkable campaign and he took his tally for the season to 25 goals during a man of the match performance in Saturday’s win at Cleethorpes Town and that has taken him nine goals clear at the top of the NPL Premier Division’s top scorers chart.
Martin will hope to guide his side to a historic promotion into the National League North over the final fortnight of an already memorable season as his side now prepare for an away day at Bamber Bridge on Saturday before they host Rushall Olympic at the Trustmark Group Stadium on the final day of the campaign. Moore admitted he has demanded a lot from his top goalscorer throughout the last eight months but left no doubt over how much he rates Martin as a nervy final week of the season lies in wait.
Speaking after Martin’s two-goal display in Saturday’s win at Cleethorpes, the Hornets boss said: “He’s brilliant, the best in the league. I get on at him because I know how good he is and I demand from him because he’s our leader up there. I know if I push him he will be rewarded like he has. He’s been outstanding for us but he’s got some big games to come so we need to look after him during the week. He looks after himself to be fair.”
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