Gainsborough Trinity sign son of Nottingham Forest and England star Steve Hodge

Teenager Elliot Hodge has been snapped up on loan by Trinity from near neighbours, Lincoln City, after a spell with The Imps in the National League’s top flight.

The young wide man joined up with Steve Housham’s side before the journey to Stockport County last Saturday when Trinity slid to a 2-0 defeat. He made a satisfactory debut before being substituted eight minutes from the end.

A fast, direct winger, Hodge is the son of ex-England, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur star Steve Hodge, who played under Brian Clough at thr City Ground and also at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Elliot worked his way through the youth set-up at Forest before serving his scholarship at Notts County. He then spent a short time at Sincil Bank and impressed manager Chris Moyses sufficiently to be handed his first professional contract in February last year. He was loaned out to Spalding United to get some valuable match-time under his belt and now looks to further his development at Gainsborough.

Housham said: “Elliot played a game against us a while ago and he has all the attributes to be a good signing. He is a good, pacy winger and is just what we need to keep the players on their toes. I’m not about to sit back and accept where we are at and I certainly won’t accept anyone settling for it either. He is a good one to have on board and so he went straight into the squad.”