“Most of them like to pout now, don’t they?” said Sam Hodgson when he smiled for his announcement picture pitchside at Craik Park.
More often than not new signings tend not to smile too much when they hold the new shirt aloft for promotional pictures. But that wasn’t the case for Hodgson.
The forward has joined Morpeth from South Shields on a loan deal that runs until 2nd January 2024. A player who will have had a long line of suitors, it was the Highwaymen he chose after being made to feel wanted at Morpeth.
This desire to get the striker on board ensured the choice to make a temporary switch was an easy one.
“I didn’t want a 28-dayer or a month loan, I wanted somewhere where I could be settled for a longer period of time,” said Morpeth’s latest recruit, who scored a sensational free-kick for Marske United last season at Craik Park in a 1-1 draw.
“The lads here were keen to bring me in so it was a no brainer when it came up. Me and Jenks (fellow South Shields loanee Will Jenkins) have joined up and are both looking forward to a good time at the club.
“That is one of the reasons I wanted to come here; I had James (Armstrong, Town assistant boss) on the phone quite a lot and to feel wanted is good.
“Everyone would be lying if they said they didn’t want to feel wanted so as soon as I knew how wanted I was here, I was definitely going to come here.”
Although temporary stints at Stockton and Blyth Spartans didn’t pan out as he’d expect last term, he scored for Marske and enjoyed his time in the NPL Premier Division, a level Morpeth will hope Hodgson can thrive in.
“I’ve heard a lot of good things about Morpeth, even just from discussing with Ryan Wombwell and Liam Noble and things do look positive,” he added.
“I spoke with the manager and on paper we do have a good team, we’re looking up and we’re looking to have a good season.
“Personally, I want a lot of goals, lots of minutes under my belt, and a good spell for the team. Hopefully we’ll pick up a lot of points and see where that takes us.”
