Re-born City striker Carl Cort had, he admitted, laid one or two ghosts to rest with that mid-week goal against Wolves.
For while there was many a decent performance to emerge out of that helter-skelter 3-3 draw with the league leaders on Tuesday night, few would have meant more to the individual concerned than Cort's 85 minute run-out against his old employer – capped, of course, by the sweetest of side-foot strikes from some 25-yards distant.
“It's been such a long time,” said the 31-year-old Canary striker, speaking ahead of this afternoon's home clash with Bristol City where – should he start – he will be greeted with a right royal welcome from the Canary clans.
Everyone always loves a trier and after the rocky and lonely road that Cort has had to follow over the last 12 months – guided only by football's very own 'Horse Whisperer', freelance physio John Green – the one-time ?7 million Newcastle United striker deserves to see his name in lights once more.
“I've always, always believed in myself – that I can score goals and be a significant player in any team that I'm in,” said the six-foot four-inch target man, whose last goal had come whilst playing for Leicester City in October, 2007 as the Foxes lost a Carling Cup clash with Premiership giants Chelsea 4-3.
“So, as I say, I was happy to get off the mark and, hopefully, there's many, many more to come.”
He was, he suggested, also quietly proving a point to one or two people who had written him off; that he hadn't the stomach for the injury fight; that he was a permanent crock; not worth another chance.
It would be one of football's greater ironies if Cort proved to be one of Glenn Roeder's greatest legacies to the football club – in much the same way that Dion Dublin proved to be in the midst of those poisonous last days of Nigel Worthington.
“There have been a few negative comments in the past but the injury situation was something that was out of my hands – and if I could have changed that, I would,” he said, as a basic lack of TLC tooks its toll on that knee cartilage problem. But with Green on hand to give Cort both the time and the attention his talents merited, so a remarkable healing process appears to be bearing fruit.
“But I now feel as if I've got myself back to a level where I can crack on and push on and, hopefully, put it right with those people who have had negative thoughts towards my abilities.”
The other, fascinating aspect to Cort's potential re-birth is the atmosphere in which he now finds himself at Colney. For in the court of Good King Gunn, everything is resolutely upbeat and positive; right now and there will be few dressing rooms in the Championship that will match the kind of support and encouragement at his disposal under Gunn's new-look management.
Is he feelin' the lurve?
“I do – very much so,” he admitted. “I came at a time when the club was sort of on a downer – for whatever reason.
“Every individual and every player will have their own reasons for why the club was in that situation at that time. But it's good to have a change.
“And the type of character that Gunny [Gunn] is is that he's a lively, jokey type – and I think that's what the boys like. Sometimes things do need a change.”
The fact that he now has 85 minutes of tough, competitive Championship action under his belt is another big plus.
“It's massive,” he said simply. “I always say that any job you're in, you need to build momentum and I think that's what I need. I need to get games back-to-back to build the confidence. And as a striker, goals give a striker confidence.
“So I've had 45 minutes against Doncaster, 85 the other night, so, hopefully I can crack on and start getting full games. Since I've been back I've considered myself fit, just not match fit. And, obviously, the way that you get match fit is by playing games.”
Maybe, he admitted, in the past the old Carl Cort might have coasted in-between games fitness-wise; got complacent. But not this one. Not the 2009 version. “I've been handed another chance – and I'm going to make the most of it,” he said.
A determination that brought its reward on Tuesday night as the texts and the calls flooded in after his return to goal-scoring ways. “It was brilliant to hear,” he said.
“It's been a long time and close friends and family were delighted – over the moon. And that helps – because you want to go and do it again.
“Hopefully I can now feature between now and the end of the season – if all goes well. And I'm pretty positive that things will go well – on a personal note and in terms of the team as well. I definitely think there's a lift in the side – the last three or four games we've been unbeaten and it's just about converting those games into wins. And I do think that's coming.”
Signed strictly on a pay-as-you-play basis only until the end of the season, are Norwich City and Carl Cort proving good for eachother? Is Norwich the place not just the club, good for Carl Cort?
“It's brilliant – brilliant,” he said. “I've been around and lived in a few cities and this is up there with the best of them. It's different from living in London – people have a bit more time for you; it a bit more relaxed. And the boys at the club have been fantastic and I've gelled in straight away.
“I don't feel out of place at all.”
So, does Norwich suit Carl Cort? “Absolutely. The sort of character I am, I feel I settle in anywhere but as I say I enjoy being here and living here. I've been out and about around the city and it's a nice place – a calm place.”
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