“Old Dog” Liam Still Barking!

By Nick Lough

With  a hatful of games under his belt and goals coming like London buses, Lincoln City forward Liam Hearn feels like a rejuvenated man since overcoming his long-term injury.

The 30-year-old joined the Imps in May after returning to the Conference from League Two outfit Mansfield Town, and has since managed to net seven goals in just six National League starts – including one in last week’s 2-0 win over Braintree Town.

It’s been four years since the former Grimsby Town striker scored 27 goals in his last injury-free season, and after suffering  serious achilles and knee injuries in recent years, Hearn believes he is actually a better player now than he was in 2011.

“The more I play the more you’ll see from me,” Hearn told The NLP. “I genuinely believe that I am a better player now than I was back then because I’m more experienced and somehow I’m hungrier because of what I’ve been through.

“I wasn’t always as confident as people thought, but hopefully I can come into my own this year and play the best football I’ve ever played.

“I love football and I know that there are younger players about than me, but I believe I’ve still got a good few years ahead so I’m just trying to stay focussed and enjoy it for as long as I can because I know it doesn’t last forever.”

After kicking off the campaign with a goal in the opening day draw with Cheltenham, Hearn has gone on to bag six more in his 12 appearances in total.

Despite his stellar performances in front of goal thus far, Hearn is convinced the Sincil Bank faithful haven’t seen the best of him yet.

Hearn said: “There’s definitely a lot more to come from me. After I scored the hat-trick against Macclesfield I felt really good, but then I picked up a slight niggle in my hamstring and I’ve just slowly started to come back into the team.

“I’ve had to sit out a few games and work a bit harder, but I’ve been given my opportunity and I’ve taken it.”

With games coming thick and fast for the striker, Hearn feels he can now comfortably meet his targets for the remainder of the 2015-16 campaign.

“My biggest thing this season is that I want to play 30 games plus,” he said. “My other target is, and always will be, to score over 20 goals.

“For as long as I can remember, every season I’ve played without an injury I’ve scored over 20 goals, so if I can keep that run going then I’ll be happy at the end of the season.

“I think there’s a lot of people out there who will question whether I am finished or not. My response to that is that there is loads of life left in the old dog after all.”