HEAD coach Luke Williams has lauded the instant impact striker Jonathan Obika has had on Swindon Town since his return from injury.

Obika returned to action on November 19, having been forced to sit on the sidelines for seven weeks with an ankle problem.

With Swindon’s other strikers, Luke Norris and Nathan Delfouneso, struggling for consistent form this season, former Tottenham Hotspur man Obika found himself straight back in the team upon his return to full fitness at the spearhead of the attack.

Although Obika’s comeback appearance was marked by a heavy 4-0 loss at Rochdale, Town have since collected four points in their two subsequent League One fixtures, with the striker netting a second-half equaliser to earn a point in the draw at Southend United on November 22.

Williams labelled the 26-year-old as the complete striker and believes Obika will carry a significant portion of Town’s hopes for the campaign on his shoulders.

“He is pivotal to everything we want to do this season. He is a very talented player and every time he comes through a game unscathed, we are delighted,” said Williams.

“His all-round game is fantastic. He can bring the ball down and bring people into play. He can run behind the line and of course, he has got a cool head in front of goal and can take a chance.

“He is a really important player, there is no doubt about that. I think he has got the all-round package for a number nine centre forward.”

Delfouneso has been pushed into a wide position to accommodate Obika’s return and continues to search for his best form following his summer arrival.

The former England U21 international has notched just three times in 22 Town appearances, with only one of those coming in League One.

Williams, however, reckons ex-Aston Villa striker Delfouneso is too good a player for that goals return to stay so low for much longer.

“The boy is extremely talented and you can talk about some of the best strikers in football over the years who have gone long spells without scoring,” said Williams.

“It’s something that happens and probably, the more you think about it and the more you stress about it, the harder it seems to get, the smaller the goal seems to look and the bigger the keeper looks.

“Then, overnight, that can change and you hit the back of the net. You can be fortunate and it hits you and goes in, you can hit it first-time without thinking and it finds the back of the net and then suddenly, everything you hit seems to find its way in.

“Nicky Ajose went maybe six, seven, eight games without scoring last season, barely having a chance to score, and then didn’t seem to be able to miss after that.

“It will happen for Nathan Delfouneso for sure because he is talented and he wants to push himself all the time.”