Phil Parkinson admitted he was worried about the January transfer window after a stunning first-half hat-trick by Regan Linney inspired Altrincham to an outstanding 5-0 away win against AFC Fylde.

The in-form Alty striker opened the scoring early on with an exceptional finish from the left side of the penalty area, curling a shot into the far corner of the Fylde net with pace and accuracy.

He repeated the trick with a similar effort soon after, and when he completed his hat-trick from close range before half time, the Robins were well on their way to their biggest win of the season.

It was the sort of high-quality finishing watching Fylde boss Kevin Phillips was renowned for in his playing days, and Parkinson fears it will alert a growing number of Football League clubs in the coming weeks, if Alty’s eight-goal leading scorer maintains his recent eye-catching form.

“We all know that is what Regan is capable of,” said the Alty boss. “The worry for me now is, if he keeps performing like that, the January window is getting very close.

“I’m very aware that he is at a stage in his career where, if he is scoring a lot of goals, he is going to get lots of attention.

“We knew that would be the case, but we just have to get on with things and see what happens.

“He has got to continue in the same vein, because as much as I want him to stay with us forever, I want him to fulfil his dream of playing in the Football League.

“If he keeps scoring goals, he will help us and hopefully help himself in that regard.”

Midfielder Elliot Osborne rounded off the scoring after going on as a second-half substitute, and Parkinson added: “The substitutes who went on all played their part, but I was particularly pleased for Elliot that he got on the scoresheet.

“He’s a brilliant player for us, a big personality, but he’s been getting stick from the lads over not scoring, so he has put that right.”