REJUVENATED Sammy Igoe fired Cherries to the top of League Two and then revealed he feared his Dean Court days could have been numbered.

The midfielder netted with two sublime strikes as Eddie Howe’s men opened up a two-point lead following a 3-1 victory over Lincoln on Saturday.

Igoe, ever-present in Cherries’ impressive start, notched his first goal for 10 months with a delightful left-foot finish after Brett Pitman’s stunner had given the hosts the lead.

And Igoe completed the scoring when he rounded off an excellent move involving Liam Feeney and Marvin Bartley by dispatching a majestic volley past Imps goalkeeper Rob Burch.

Igoe experienced a mixed bag during his first season with Cherries and admitted he had thought about not exercising a contract option when his deal expired in the summer.

The 33-year-old had been close to dropping into the non-league ranks with Havant & Waterlooville before he agreed terms with ex-boss Kevin Bond in 2008.

Igoe told the Daily Echo: “I didn’t have many games last season. I had a little run in the side but kept getting niggling injuries.

“Although I had the option, it did cross my mind that I might not be here this season. But I stayed, I’ve got my head down and things have worked out well.

“A lot of clubs at this level are happy to have two or three young players instead of senior players. Thankfully, I signed here and I’m really enjoying it.”

Igoe, who has helped Reading, Bristol Rovers and Hereford to promotion during his 521-match career, is hoping an elevation with Cherries could be next on his CV.

He said: “I’ve played in a few promoted teams and you get a feeling you’re going to win games. You don’t always play well but you still win and that’s what’s happening with us.

“Although we’ve played well in spells in our past couple of games, we haven’t played particularly well overall but have still won. That’s the sign of a good side.”

Despite Igoe’s heroics, Lincoln caretaker-manager Simon Clark felt Cherries targetman Steve Fletcher had been the real thorn. He said: “We struggled to deal with Fletcher. We talked about it before the game but didn’t deal with his flicks. They scored with two great finishes but you can still stop those if you’re close enough and you read their movement.”

Cherries boss Howe said: “There’s a lot more to come from us in terms of performance and style of play but there were some good signs to say the least with the result.

“I thought Lincoln played well in the first half and also put us under pressure in the second but credit to us for taking our chances when they came along.

“It was good to see Sammy get on the scoresheet because he’s deserved that this season. He’s put in some tireless displays and worked very hard. He got his reward with two very good goals.”