JOHN AKINDE is back dreaming of playing in the Football League after picking up the Vanarama Conference player of the month award for December.
The Barnet striker is the leading scorer in Non-League‘s top tier having found the net 21 times this season, with six coming in four games during the last month of 2014.
And with the Bees topping the table by six points, Akinde – who was top scorer for Conference rivals Alfreton last term – is now dreaming of adding more trophies to his cabinet.
The 25-year-old Londoner told The NLP: “I was in the Football League but I felt like I didn’t get enough regular game time, so I dropped back down and it’s been paying off.
“I want to get back into the League and hopefully it will be with Barnet. We started off well and I’m sure if we continue the way we have been, then we will be up there.
“We’ve dropped points recently, but there’s a long way to go still. No matter what league you are in, you are going to lose games. It’s about how you bounce back from it and staying consistent.”
Hot on the heels of Barnet at the top are Bristol Rovers, who went unbeaten in the league in December and were rewarded by boss Darrell Clarke picking up the manager of the month award.
That run included a 4-0 win over play-off contenders Macclesfield Town, as well as an impressive 2-1 victory at fellow Conference newcomers Torquay.
In the Conference North it was a Tamworth double as Andy Morrell took the manager’s accolade with captain Paul Green scooping the player award.
Bromley were rewarded for closing the gap on Boreham Wood at the top of Conference South as boss Mark Goldberg picked up December’s manager award.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Jonathan North, who kept three clean sheets for Wealdstone in December as the north-west London Stones went unbeaten, was a worthy recipient of the player gong.
