Kevin Nolan: 'Shola Ameobi did not want to come off as he was after hat-trick'

Kevin Nolan has revealed that Shola Ameobi was given the opportunity to be subbed off in Saturday's 3-1 win over Colchester United, but turned it down as he was so eager to bag a hat-trick.

The former Newcastle United forward scored twice against the U's, in a win which keeps the Magpies 13 points clear of the bottom two in League Two.

Nolan told the Nottingham Post: “You get that from him (Shola) day in, day out. Now you’re seeing a fit Shola.

“We’ve been able to manage him, keeping him on the training pitch as well as on the pitch on a matchday.

“I did ask him in the 90th minute if he wanted to come off but he said ‘No, I want my hat-trick!’. That just shows what he’s thinking of all the time – it’s first class.”

Ameobi's brace on Saturday was his first in nearly seven years, when he scored two in a 5-1 win for Newcastle over Sunderland in October 2010 to go alongside a hat-trick by none other than Nolan.

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