Northampton v Walsall - Match preview

Having been snapped up as a free agent last Friday, the 33-year-old former Cardiff City playmaker had an exciting cameo in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Hartlepool United.

He is now out to help the Saddlers pick up a result at Northampton Town – who he trained with before joining up with Michael Flynn.

Tomlin’s passion for the game has been reignited, and he said on his long-awaited return to the pitch this past weekend: “Even the club’s Instagram story for matchday meant something to me. I put a post out myself and didn’t think I’d be doing that again.

“Even that, something so small, it means something to me as this is all I’ve known since I was six, seven years old.

“I have missed it for the past three or four months. Football is what I love and the only thing I know.

“I won’t just accept normality. I want to do something in football.

“I spoke to Wes Hoolahan a few months ago. He said ‘look, we’ve never had the pace’.

“He’s 41 and still unbelievable. You can’t get the ball off him.

“In that No.10 role, all you need is strikers or wingers running off you. You’ll end up setting up goals for fun, and getting a few yourself.

“The gaffer said I’ve got years and years – if I want to.

“I wouldn’t do something if I didn’t want to as I’d be wasting everyone’s time.

“But I want to play football and keep enjoying it. I expect so much of myself, no matter the level. I expect perfection. Although you can’t get there, you can get close to it.”

Tomlin seems more likely to come on as a substitute once more given Saturday’s outing was his first since October 2020.

He still has the quality to make a difference, though, and wants to repay Flynn for convincing him to dust off his boots and join Walsall.

“He was the only reason, really,” said Tomlin.

“No disrespect to the club or the chairman, anything like that.

“But I wasn’t going to get back into football.

“I’ve known the gaffer for years. He said ‘look, you can play until your 40 as you’ve never had the blistering pace, but you’re two steps ahead of everyone’.

“He told me to come and play and enjoy it, and that’s why I’m here.

“The reception from the fans when I was warming up was massive. It gave me shivers, and I just can’t thank them enough.

“I want to get them off their seats and enjoy my football.”

A result at second-in-the-table Northampton would help Walsall pull further away from trouble in League Two.

Tomlin added: “I know the gaffer well, and he won’t be happy to be sitting in the bottom half. He won’t accept that.

“To get as many wins between now and the end of the season, it just builds confidence for next season. It’s massive.”