This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Player view’ series, this content strand is where we put ourselves in the shoes of a given player, and offer an opinion-based outlook on the perspective on the situation at hand…

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

The majority of the squad that were relegated from the third tier remained with the club in this year's campaign, so there would have been a sense of optimism around Glanford Park,

But they couldn't have asked for a more frustrating start to this season, with Paul Hurst's side currently sat 22nd in the League Two table after their opening 16 games.

Scunthorpe have only found the back of the net 21 times in those league games as well, which is something that the Iron will have to address at the earliest of opportunities.

One player that Hurst will be hoping to rely on for goals going forward is Jamie Ward, with the Northern Irishman looking like a rare bright spark in a slow start to the season.

[freshpress-poll ]

There was some surprise when Ward first arrived at Glanford Park during the summer, after previous spells at both Nottingham Forest and Derby County earlier in his career.

He's struggled with injuries and illness since signing for the club, but when he has featured, Scunthorpe have looked like a completely different team for all the right reasons.

In his four league appearances to date for his new club, Ward has two goals to his name, and has every reason to believe that he could be a key player in pushing Scunthorpe up the League Two table.

There's no reason for the club's supporters to be fearing for their status as a Football League club at this moment in time, especially as we're so early into this year's campaign, but they'll know that their team's performances simply have to improve as soon as possible.

Ward is an experienced player that has played consistently at a higher level, and that will come in handy when it comes to getting the best out of young members of the Scunthorpe squad.

He's out of contract in January, but his recent performances have been strong, and it certainly would be a wise decision by the club to extend that deal until the end of this year's campaign, and their survival this season could depend on the Northern Irishman.