Alessandra tells of his delight

Last updated : 30 October 2008 By Dave Moore
Lewis Alessandra told of his delight at being selected for a starting place over league leaders Scunthorpe United and he also told of his surprise at scoring a hat-trick. He said, "It's a crazy game because I wasn't even on the bench on Saturday. Then Shez has changed things around, I've started the game and fortunately it came off for me. I could have had more on the night but I'm happy with three! My first goal was definitely on target, and it just took a deflection and wrong-footed the keeper. I was happy to see it hit the back of the net - it was a weight off my shoulders because I've not scored many this season."

"I was saying to Deane Smalley on the training ground the other day that I wanted to get one in the first half to get the momentum going. Playing with confidence helps massively, especially with a young player. The ball from Neal was inch-perfect and all I really had to do was pass it into the net. The keeper was on his heels again and I just rolled it past him. I don't really know how the ball for the third came to me. I think Neal tried to switch the play but the ball landed in my path and I struck it sweetly. It was great to seal the win, especially in front of the Chaddy End, and I just wanted to go mad."

"Three points was the most important thing, but I'm really happy to get three goals because I probably needed them. The manager left me out on Saturday, so it was on my mind that I wanted to get back in the team and show him that I don't want to be the 17th man in the squad. I want to be in there playing and scoring goals, so I suppose scoring a hat-trick was the best response I could give. I've done myself no harm and playing up front with Lee Hughes really helps because he has traits which every striker can copy. Hughesy was one of the people telling me to be more selfish, and I feel I'm learning from him. I probably could have scored five in the end."