DEFENDERS can’t stop Andy Cook when he scents blood.

That was the warning from Mark Hughes after the striker’s masterclass at Newport.

Cook roared back into the goals with a hat-trick to lead City to a thumping 4-1 away win.

“It’s not unsurprising with Cooky,” said Hughes. “He’s the type of player that defenders find very difficult to deal with.

“His general play was excellent and we’re delighted for him. We’ve missed him.

“When he gets the scent of blood and scores early on, there is the possibility that he’ll go on a run and score two or three, even four or five if you give him the chance.

“I just sensed before the game that he was ready. His persona and the way he was before the game was really positive.

“That helped the group as well. They were delighted to have him back and have that focal point to our play which we’ve missed and that’s the difference.”

Cook had trained all week after sitting out four games with injuries to his side and knee.

Hughes had always pencilled in his number nine to play at Rodney Parade but wasn’t convinced how long he would last.

But Cook played the full game - clinching his treble with the final goal two minutes into added time.

Hughes added: “I wasn’t sure he was going to play 90 minutes. But it was important we kept him on.

“We had a conversation about whether we should take him off but we needed to keep that target up top to keep them honest.

“We still needed that outlet and Cooky was able to give us that.”