HOT shot Kevin Townson gets his chance to stake a first-team claim on Saturday afternoon as Dale travel to Sixfields.

The popular 20-year-old comes in for the suspended Grant Holt and manager Steve Parkin has challenged Townson to make his mark for a regular place.

“He’ll come straight back into the side and has the opportunity to stay there,” said the Dale boss.

“If Kevin and Paul [Connor] both have great games then Holt will probably be on the bench next weekend.”

Townson’s sporadic selection has been a bugbear for fans since his marvellous scoring spree two years ago, when he netted 16 times in 19 starts.

Parkin came in for some flak at last week’s fans’ forum over the issue, but maintains relations are good and is confident there’s more to come from the young Scouser.

“A few people had a pop at the forum,” he said. “Whenever a player is left out it is for a reason - it’s not personal. I think Kevin’s a super lad and he’s working very hard on aspects of his game he perhaps wasn’t doing six months ago.”

Another player getting a chance to shine is Michael Simpkins, who looks likely to slot in on the left of midfield for Patrick McCourt.

One of Alan Buckley’s summer signings, the former Cardiff defender has been ousted at full-back by Matt Doughty, but Parkin believes he can offer a solid option further upfield.

He said: “I’ve got no reservations about playing Patrick at home, but there are certain games where we need to be strong on the left-hand side."

“We need someone who can win a header from the goal-kick and be a little bit more defensive. That’s why we’ll have a look at Michael there,” he added.

“Matt’s done all right at left-back. He was unfortunate with the own goal against Bristol Rovers and he got done a couple of times by Larkin against Mansfield, but in general his performance was solid and reliable."

“Stephen Hill has had injury problems and is not ready yet, so Doughty’s the first choice in that position now.”

Parkin is pleased with his current centre-half pairing of Daryl Burgess and Danny Livesey, and is confident the former can put in a solid performance against his former club on Saturday afternoon.

“Daryl looked pretty strong at Darlington until he took a dreadful knock, and played well last weekend."

“He’s going back to his old club on Saturday and I’m sure he’ll be up to scratch,” he said.

Livesey returned to Bolton in the week to rest a sore groin, but is fit to start at Sixfields.