It's fair to say that it's not been the start to the season that many Scunthorpe United fans would have first hoped for following their relegation from League One last term. 

The Iron appointed former Ipswich Town boss Paul Hurst as their new manager, and he would have been confident that he could lead his side back into the third tier at the first time of asking.

But this hasn't been the case, and even though they've shown improvement in their performances each week, they still sit 22nd in the League Two table and just three points clear of Morecambe who are sat bottom of the league.

Their sluggish start to the season will come as even more of a surprise given that the main core of the Scunthorpe side remained together from last season, with some new signings being drafted in to strengthen their chances of winning promotion.

One player that arrived at Glanford Park in the summer was former Nottingham Forest and Derby winger Jamie Ward, which will have been classed as somewhat of a coup for the League Two outfit.

We put Ward under the spotlight and look into whether he is going to be a key player for Paul Hurst's side this season as they look to fire themselves up the League Two table.

Ward's statistics speak for themselves here, but they need to be taken with a pinch of salt given that he's only made one appearance for Hurst's side this season in all competitions.

But it was an impressive debut for Scunthorpe for the former Northern Irishman, as he scored a penalty just 13 minutes into their game against Bradford City, where they had to settle for a point after Matthew Lund was dismissed just six minutes after Ward's opener on the day.

[freshpress-poll ]

He had four touches in the Bradford box in that game, which is a relatively good statistic for Ward to build on, especially when you consider that the experienced winger's side were defending for the majority of the game.

Ward clearly isn't short of confidence in front of goal after having half of his four attempted shots on target, and he'll be keen to add to his goal tally as the season progresses.

At the age of 33, Ward still has a good amount of pace in his locker, and he'll fancy his chances of beating his man more times than not at League Two level.

He also has a pass accuracy of 60% and will be hoping to maintain that as one of his strengths heading towards the hectic festive period which could define which direction Scunthorpe's season heads in.

Ward is only contracted with Scunthorpe until January, so he needs to prove himself to Paul Hurst as soon as possible, and he could go on to be a key player for the Iron this season.

He needs to stay injury-free for that to happen though, otherwise his days at Glanford Park could be numbered.

Hurst has already revealed that Ward is available for selection after overcoming illness, and is likely to be pushing for a start against Newport County this weekend.