Elliot Anderson bagged a hat-trick on his injury comeback for Newcastle United's under-23s and has stressed his desire to impress Eddie Howe.
It has been a stop-start opening to the season for the 19-year-old who made his senior debut for the Magpies in January's FA Cup defeat at Arsenal.
Anderson was sidelined for four months over the summer as a result of a hip injury, and suffered a further setback which ruled him out of contention during Graeme Jones' interim spell in charge.
The North Shields-born attacker - who recently received a callup for Scotland's under-19s - made an initial goalscoring return in the Premier League 2 defeat to Stoke City in December.
Following his latest absence however, Anderson scored all three goals as Elliot Dickman's young Magpies secured a comfortable 3-1 victory away at Nottingham Forest on Monday night.
The teenager put the visitors in front from the penalty spot after just four minutes, with Forest goalkeeper Nicky Hogarth dismissed shortly afterwards for handling outside of the box.
Anderson doubled Newcastle's lead after the interval, and went on to complete his hat-trick after capitalising on a defensive error.
The young attacker has been pictured in Howe's recent first-team training sessions, and is determined to prove to the new head coach that he is worthy of a place in the senior squad.
Anderson told the club's website: "I'm buzzing. I haven't played in three or four weeks and to score a hat-trick to get my goal tally up is quite important to me.
"In the short-term, I'm trying to impress the manager as much as I can, show what I've got and see if he notices.
"I thought we started the game really well and the intensity was high. They got a man sent off within the first ten minutes but we played like we have been in training.
"I think to come down here and pass them off the park has been a successful day for us."
The victory has lifted Newcastle's under-23s to within a point of the Division Two playoff spots, with a home fixture against Aston Villa up next on Friday.
