ROUTE One Rovers have been provided with a welcome boost following the return of talismanic figure Zak Khan.

The West Yorkshire outfit are languishing in 16th place (relegation zone) in the NWCFL First Division North, but the forward’s return has sparked some renewed optimism for Rovers.

Khan, who scored a league record 36 goals in the First Division North last season before moving to Campion in the summer, has been back for three matches and has already struck five goals for his side.

Route One’s joint manager, Mohammed Hassan, is hoping that Khan’s return will signal a change in fortunes for his side.

Speaking to the T&A, he said: “With Zak returning to the club it’s a massive boost to the squad. His five goals already speak for itself, so we are very pleased with his contributions so far.

“We know that we’ve been lacking a spark in the final third of the pitch, and Zak provides us with that. He gives us that extra bit of magic when the goal is closing in and he’s extremely clinical which is what you need to be in this division.

“We are fully aware that we’re in a relegation battle, so we need to acknowledge that as a group and put that extra ten or twenty percent in on matchdays because every point will be important.

“However, Zak’s return will give the boys that added boost going forward, for sure.”

It was a summer of change for Route One prior to the season kicking off with former manager Sohail Abbas leaving the club.

Of course, Khan’s exit to Campion meant that Rovers had lost their biggest goal threat too.

Hassan and fellow joint-manager, Amaan Munir have taken over proceedings (September) and now have the task of masterminding a survival bid.

Reflecting on the campaign so far, Hassan admitted: “It’s been a challenging start to the season for the club. In the summer Sokii (former manager Sohail Abbas) left the club and that came as a bit of a surprise to everyone.

“We were planning for next season (current campaign) with him, but he made the decision to leave quite close to the summer ending, and that brought us challenges.

“Furthermore, Zak Khan the league’s top goal scorer left us, which is something we probably expected to happen because of his insane goalscoring record from last season.

“For a number of reasons including the two I’ve just mentioned, we had a turbulent start to the season, and although we are seeing improvements in performances in recent weeks, it’s still a bit up and down for us at the moment.

“Hopefully, now that we’ve got a coaching set-up in place and Zak has returned, we can start to fine some stability, continuity and consistency.”

Route One host Daisy Hill today who sit nine points above Rovers and the relegation zone.

With that in mind, manager Hassan has labelled today’s fixture as a must win game.

He said: “It’s vital that we get the victory this weekend. These are the types of games that we need to be winning because of where we are and where they are in the table.

“We’re six points adrift of safety at this moment in time, so it’s important that we start to pick up points against the teams in and around us.”