Is Luke Norris the key to Swindon gaining promotion this season?

Swindon Town FC is perfectly perched in third position in EFL Sky Bet League 2, just four points behind league leaders Exeter City and three points behind second-placed Luton Town.

They have their eyes firmly placed on promotion, and at this still relatively early stage of the season, who’s to say that they won’t achieve their ambition? It could well be worth placing a small wager on the likelihood.

Manager, David Flitcroft is very focused, and he is certain that striker Luke Norris, affectionately known to teammates and fans as "Nozza,” is the player to help make that dream come true.

When Norris joined Swindon Town FC at the beginning of last season, he struggled to find how form. He only managed to find the back of the net six times in 46 matches as the Robins were relegated out of League One.

However, a new season and a new lease of life has seen Nozza, formerly a Gillingham striker, find a rich vein of form which has seen him score eight goals so far.

But it's not just his prowess as a striker that has got Swindon fans excited. He has also chalked up three assists, the latest of which came against Stevenage, in a game that saw him nominated as man of the match.

Talking specifically about Luke Norris, manager David Flitcroft said that the player is all about scoring goals. Having said that, he went on to say how brilliant he has been in training, where he has been creating lots of goal scoring chances for other players too. At the moment Nozza’s confidence is sky high, and he always manages to do the right thing at any given moment.

In the past, and as displayed at Gillingham, Norris has played the role of target man. Flitcroft, however, wants to nurture his goal-scoring ability; but it is his inbuilt ability to hold and lay-off the ball that he needs to focus on.

He refers to Harry Kane of Tottenham as a great example for Norris. Kane is first and foremost a target man, but he also manages to notch up around 30 goals per season. Flitcroft won’t put too much pressure on Norris, but is keen that the 24-year-old should keep on doing what he is doing and emulate the Spurs man little by little.

Swindon’s manager set Nozza his first target at five goals. He has already gone far beyond that and is well on the way to achieving his second set of five. Asked if he sees Norris continuing to score goals in the system that Swindon employ, he was quick to answer, yes; but only if the young man concentrates on his hold-up play.

Flitcroft is of the opinion that if his hold-up play is good enough (something he refers to as phase one) that he will continue to be given goal scoring opportunities in phase two of his play, and as he has proven, he is a superb striker.

The most important thing for Norris now is to remain fit. Swindon has just lost the services of winger Donal McDermott who came off in the game against Bristol Rovers with a suspected ligament injury to his ankle. He is likely to be out for between four and six weeks.

If Luke Norris can avoid injury and the team can keep up their good run, they could well be on for promotion at the end of the season.