Peter Pawlett is back and raring to go

He was one of Paul Tisdale's top performers during pre-season, but Peter Pawlett's League 2 campaign lasted just 40 seconds before he was ruled out for 13 weeks.
Peter PawlettPeter Pawlett
Peter Pawlett

His first season was blighted by injuries, niggles and knocks which limited Pawlett to just 28 appearances. But his clean bill of health over the summer was over within a minute at Oldham as he suffered an ankle injury which would rule him out for the next three months.

On Saturday, the 27-year-old made his eagerly anticipated return during the 4-0 win over Crawley Town, and could have even capped his return with a goal after rounding keeper Glenn Morris. But Pawlett's over-riding feeling was relief.

"Really pleased first and foremost with the win I thought we were really good today, I enjoyed watching it. I got 10 minutes at the end and I’m delighted to be back involved long may it continue. I’m feeling good.

"It was very frustrating to injure myself 40 seconds into the season, I think its 13 weeks today – it’s been tough but the physios have been unbelievable they’ve worked me hard and the rehab has been great. I feel sharp and raring to go.

"Coming on 4-0 up it’s exciting. I should’ve had a goal today, which is frustrating but as long as I’m getting them chances and I’m on the pitch that’s the most important thing."

Having missed 19 games already this season, Pawlett admitted he has been keeping count of what is remaining this season, and what he hopes to be involved with/

He said: "Every time there is a game I’m looking at it wondering how many games are left in the season I think we have 29 and a few Cup games so there is plenty of football left to play and I just want to be involved as much as I can and produce as much as I can. The lads have been brilliant watching them week in, week out hopefully, I can be a part of that.

Peter Pawlett impressed during pre-seasonPeter Pawlett impressed during pre-season
Peter Pawlett impressed during pre-season

"We’ve got Grimsby and Brighton Under-21s coming up that I can hopefully get some more minutes under my belt in and get my sharpness back and my form too. As long as the team continue to win and I can do my bit I’ll be more than happy."

While watching on from the sidelines though, Pawlett has been impressed with what he has seen from his team-mates, and feels Paul Tisdale's instructions are beginning to shine through.

"We’ve improved over time, the last couple of weeks I think we’ve been really eye-catching to watch, we’re starting to take on board what the manager is saying, we aren’t afraid to get on the ball, we can do everything now. We want to be the best that we can be, we’re always trying to improve it’s been very good so far."