'SUPER Sammy' Parkin's Midas touch in front of goal can be traced back to the summer of 2002 and his desire to be a major player rather than a bit-part journeyman.

The 23-year-old (pictured) has now blasted 66 goals in a Town shirt but the impact he has had in Wiltshire is strictly by design rather than accident.

It is a far cry from his days at Northampton where he found himself utilised as a left-winger on occasions.

Parkin has now revealed for the first time that it was a mixture of self-belief and determination to avoid the 'journeyman' tag which drove him to new heights.

Swindon Town just happened to be the right club in the right place at the right time.

He said: "I've made no secret of the fact that the last two-and-a-half years have been the best times of my career so far.

"You never get tired of hearing the supporters singing your name. I love it, who wouldn't?"

Manager Andy King first watched Parkin during his season-long loan at Northampton and decided it was worth asking Sir Seton Wills to stump up £50,000 for the youngster.

The rest is history, but it is hardly a case of both manager and player simply getting lucky.

Parkin said: "After that year at Northampton I decided it was now or never in terms of my career.

"I was determined that whichever club I joined was going to be one where I would make an impact and score a hatful of goals.

"I spoke to family and friends about it that summer (2002) and made it clear I didn't want to be a bit-part player. I wanted to have a big influence and be THE centre forward if you like.

"What I didn't want to do was drift from club to club and become one of football's journeymen. Even when things weren't going well at Northampton I never lost belief in myself and my ability to score goals.

"Swindon was the club I decided to join and having got off to a great start, things have just gone for me. You need your teammates to create chances for you and there's some great lads at the club who are doing just that."

Manager Andy King also points to Parkin's acknowledgement of others. He said: "After scoring against Barnsley he went over to Lee Holmes and Grant Smith. He's very aware that his teammates are creating opportunities for him."

So is all the Parkin 'mania' affecting him? No, and he doesn't think it will in the future. He said: "I think a lot of it's to do with the way I've been brought up. I'm a down to earth sort of boy."