Mildenhall Town attacker Natty Stewart eyeing up promotion push

Natty Stewart is fighting to make up for lost time.

And the attacker hopes that determination will help him to propel Mildenhall Town towards securing promotion from the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division.

Stewart was one of Mildenhall’s stand-out signings in the summer following stints with the likes of King’s Lynn Town, Wroxham and Norwich United.

He started pre-season brightly, only to then be stopped in his tracks by a knee injury. The forward tried to play through it during the opening few weeks of the campaign, but it became apparent that a spell on the sidelines was required.

Slowly but surely Stewart worked his way back into the squad in November and more recently the goals have started to flow, culminating in a hat-trick during Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing of Long Melford.

“I’m the type of player that gets fouled quite a bit, but I’d never had a serious injury,” he said.

“Then I get to Mildenhall, start pre-season well and then I get an injury that keeps me out for about four months.

“There was talk of having an operation and that would have ruled me out for the season, but thankfully it has healed and I feel like I’m back to where I was in the summer.

“It was hard just going to games and watching the lads, but now I feel like I’m really contributing.

“The club and the fans had to bide their time with me early on because of the injury, but the goals are starting to go in and I’m looking to score a few more to help push us towards promotion.”

The victory at Melford saw Ricky Cornish’s team open up a three-point lead at the top of the Premier Division table.

However, second-placed Gorleston – three points behind – have a trio of games in hand, while Wroxham in third have a five-point deficit having played five matches less.

It means the title and the second potential promotion spot are both out of Mildenhall’s hands, yet Stewart is expecting points to be dropped during the run-in.

He added: “Every game is vital for us now. There are 11 cup finals left and we’ve got to win as many as we can.

“All we can do is play our games, hopefully win them and then let fate do the rest – just like it did at the weekend when Kirkley beat Gorleston.

“It’s down to us, if we stick to our game-plan and play to our levels then we’ll have a very good chance.”

While every fixture between now and the end of the season carries its own significance, there is no hiding the fact that Saturday’s home match against Wroxham could be particularly crucial (3pm).

Victory for Mildenhall would see them go eight points clear of Stewart’s former club, although they do have those five games to catch up.

“It’s one of those six pointers,” he said. “I know a few of the boys there and the management team – they’re a good side.

“They’ve got the games in hand but at this stage I’d rather have the points on the board.

“We’ve already beaten them twice this season (league and cup) so that will give us confidence.

“And I’m keen to show what I can do because although I scored the winner in the FA Cup game, I was injured and nowhere near my best.

“We get good crowds at home as well and hopefully they’ll be out to support us.”