Joining the club in early November with the Robins languishing in mid-table, Johnson’s aura lifted the squad. His presence instantly helped the team win four of their next six matches and he hasn’t stopped impressing since.

Scoring eleven times in twenty appearances the twenty nine year old is currently enjoying the unbeaten run his team are on.

When reaching the Evo-Stik Play Offs the side finishing second enjoys a home play-off semi-final and Johnson has insisted if automatic promotion doesn’t happen, finishing just behind the winners is crucial. “We are on a great run and we’ve just got to keep going. If we can’t finish first then we need to aim for second spot to gain home advantage in the play-offs. As a team we want to win every game possible.”

Having picked up six assists this campaign, the former Salford City striker has worked tirelessly for the team.

Unlike his first spell at the club, Johnson has had more than just Martin Pilkington to help his goal scoring quest. With Ben Deegan coming in last week, the Robins cause problems for any defence and that is shown by the statistics, with sixty six goals being scored in the league this campaign. “The squad is stronger than ever and that’s testament to the board for backing the gaffers. With Deegs (Ben Deegan) coming in, it brings a physical presence which takes some strain off me. The front three of Me, Deegs and Pilky (Martin Pilkington) will hopefully be a defenders nightmare.”

Rotation has been key in the past month. Despite a near untouched back five, Phillo and Ackers have utilised their number of midfield and attacking players. Which has seen the amount of injuries in the squad go down. “You’ve already seen the gaffer is using his squad as much as possible. He is trying to keep players fresh and hopefully we can go into the next month with no injuries and a fully fit squad. If someone does get injured then we now have players to come in and do the job.”

Tameside rivals Hyde have already been relegated from the Conference North, whereas Darlington 1883 and Salford City are fighting it out to gain promotion into Ashton United’s current division.

Johnson finished by stating this season is the perfect time to gain promotion and in reality, the club may never get a better chance than they’ve made for themselves this year. “I feel the squad is better than last season and we are in a better position at the moment. I personally think this season is the best time to gain promotion as the quality coming in from the relegated Conference North and likely promoted sides from Evo-Stik Division One are very strong.”