Luther Burrell admits his recent spell out of the Saints first team has given him a chance to reflect on a whirlwind start to life at the club.
Burrell, who signed on at Northampton from Sale Sharks during the summer, made a big impact in the embryonic stage of the season as Saints won their first five Premiership games.
The centre helped Saints scorch to the top of the table, blitzing the likes of Exeter and Worcester Warriors along the way.
But since then he has failed to hold down a first-team spot, with the London Irish horrow show, which yielded a 39-17 defeat, proving costly for the new recruit.
“I obviously won’t forget those first five games where we were running hot and we were hard to beat,” said Burrell, who has been recalled to the starting line-up for tomorrow’s (Sat) LV= Cup clash with Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens (ko 1pm).
“I was consistently playing well and it’s been an opportunity for me to reflect and see what I was doing then and what I can keep doing on the training pitch to better myself.
“Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can get that consistency back and get back in there.”
Burrell, who spent time with the Wanderers after the Irish loss, was given a few minutes off the bench at Leicester last weekend and starts in a much-changed line-up this weekend.
And the 24-year-old knows the upcoming LV= Cup games against Quins and Newport-Gwent Dragons are a chance for him to prove his worth.
“I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated being on the bench, because I’m still involved in the squad, but I want to be in that starting line-up,” he said.
“These next few weeks are massively important for myself and other players to put their hand up to the coaches.”
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