Ollie Palmer has achieved a notable scoring achievement in the FA Cup, but now he's set his sights on helping the team to create headlines in the competition.
Ollie's winner against Guiseley meant that he's scored in the Emirates FA Cup for four different clubs, having previously done so for Mansfield, Leyton Orient, and Crawley.
However, an FA Cup run has so far proved elusive for Ollie and he's determined to change that.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's second round match against Cheltenham, Ollie said: “I have good memories of the Carabao Cup, and I’ve been involved in winning the Checkatrade Trophy, but with the FA Cup it’s always been the second or third round. I’ve never got too far so it would be enjoyable to try and get to the fifth or sixth round. Our club has got the history in this competition, which is fantastic, and you never know what can happen.
“It’s always draw dependent and you need a few home ties, perhaps a few lower-ranked teams to edge towards the third round and when the big boys come get a scalp or two. Anything can happen and I think we all remember Bradford doing so well in the cup many years ago. It’s something to give the fans a boost and financially there are rewards too.
“It was a nice goal that I scored in the last round, but the main thing was getting through. Sometimes you can beat these lower ranked teams 9-1, but sometimes you lose. We seen some big teams go out to lower ranked teams in the first round. It was good to get a goal, but the main thing was to get through.”
Ollie's impressive return after injury - he's scored four goals in five games - has meant that the fans have been singing his name in recent weeks and that's been music to his ears!
“It’s nice to have a song and I hear the fans singing my name week in and week out, which provides a massive lift. It kind of reiterates how important the fans are and it’s no lie when people say they are the 12th man.
“I’m getting there after injury as I’ve only been back for three or four games after about six weeks out, but I felt that we were playing well before I got injured. It’s been good to come back and get that personal form better, and the team performances will come. We are not happy where we are in the league table right now, but we’ve only had one defeat in the last six at home and we have to keep it as a fortress and turn the draws into wins."
The 29-year-old has in recent weeks been deployed at the head of an exciting attacking line-up with Luke McCormick, Ayoub Assal, and Jack Rudoni playing behind him. Ollie has thrived in the formation and he believes there's plenty more to come.
“Sometimes you hear people saying about playing with a front two and that’s a possibility for us, but at the same time it’s kind of turned into a front four and it’s worked very well in the last couple of weeks.
“I feel that it’s been a real threat and our potential goals ratio has gone through the roof. We are seeing that with the amount of goals we’re scoring. That’s not just down to me or Macca behind me, it’s Rudi and Ayoub too, and we have people like Chis and Pres coming on.
“Everyone has contributed and it’s not just about one individual. It’s about us all getting into good areas and creating opportunities, which I think we are doing better than ever before, and we’ve really been working on that. The manager is responsible for that and Simmo has brought in how he wants us to be effective and create chances. Missing chances is going to happen every week, but making them is important, and I feel that we are doing that at the moment.”