Jeff Hughes believes that Francois Zoko can terrorise npower League 1 defences in his new role up front.
Zoko has spent much of the season out wide but a change in formation has seen the Ivorian switch to the County attack.
Although the former Carlisle man’s first game in the position did not go as planned, due to a first half red card in the Meadow Lane encounter with Sheffield United, he returned with a bang by scoring in the midweek win against Portsmouth.
The club was unable to bring in a striker on transfer deadline day but Hughes feels that Zoko has all the tools to ensure that the team is more clinical in the final third.
“I think he can be very good for us up front and hopefully he can get a few more goals,” he told Magpie Player.
“It’s not just his goals, he runs the channels, holds the ball up, and a few times against Portsmouth, he ran the ball half the length of the pitch to get us pushed up.
“Off the mark, I’d say he’s the quickest in the team so anything in behind he’s always got a chance of getting on the end of it.
“He’s so strong when he runs with the ball and even though he’s not the biggest he’s a very strong lad.
“It’s hard to get it off him, he’s one of those that even when you tackle him he seems to come out with the ball.”
Zoko is likely to feature in attack again this weekend, when the Magpies travel to Hartlepool United.
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