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GARY Madine won’t let his barren start to life at Wanderers get him down.
Pressure has built around Neil Lennon’s summer signing to find his first Bolton goal, the agonising wait now extending to some seven games and 529 minutes of football.
Despite some impressive form in front of goal in pre-season, Madine has found things tough since hitting the woodwork twice on his debut against Derby County.
While Lennon has praised the striker’s all-round game, the team’s general lack of goals have magnified his own situation.
Madine refuses to allow his head to drop, however, and as he prepares to lead the line against Huddersfield Town tomorrow he is determined to play through his problems.
“From a personal point of view, of course it has been a bit frustrating,” he said. “Hitting the crossbar twice against Derby on the opening day of the season and then again against Burton. But it could have been so different.
“But I’m the kind of player, though, that if I miss a chance I won’t dwell on it.
“I’ll go again straight away and hopefully the Bolton fans have seen that of me so far.
“I feel as though I’ve played well in the games that I’ve figured so far – of course, as a striker you want goals, but ultimately your game-play is important too and the effort that you put in.”
If you take into consideration the end of last season, albeit in a struggling Blackpool team, then Madine has actually gone 1,073 minutes – some 17.8 hours – without celebrating a goal in the Championship or Capital One Cup.
Lennon has kept faith with his striker, who it must be said was signed as a target man, and remains pleased with his overall impact since joining the club.
“Gary is a good player,” he said. “It hasn’t gone for him so far but I’m sure it will. He just needs to keep getting in there and it will come.
“We do need to be more clinical, we do need more quality in the final third, but I can’t ask any more from Gary or any of my players in terms of effort.”
Lennon’s search for more firepower will continue into next week. But in the meantime, Madine admits his manager is working hard in training to bring the best out the strikers already at the club.
“The gaffer is a perfectionist,” he told the club’s match-day programme. “He’s the kind of manager where I could go and put five out of five shots in the back of the net but as soon as I miss one, he’s on you.
“That’s not a bad thing, not at all. He always wants more from you and to be the best that you possibly can. He constantly keeps you on your toes and a lot of players, myself included, need that.
“He doesn’t allow for complacency and that’s a great trait to have as a manager. He’s experienced and he knows what he wants from his team.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13768938.Madine__I_won_t_dwell_on_my_Wanderers_goal_drought/
Pressure has built around Neil Lennon’s summer signing to find his first Bolton goal, the agonising wait now extending to some seven games and 529 minutes of football.
Despite some impressive form in front of goal in pre-season, Madine has found things tough since hitting the woodwork twice on his debut against Derby County.
While Lennon has praised the striker’s all-round game, the team’s general lack of goals have magnified his own situation.
Madine refuses to allow his head to drop, however, and as he prepares to lead the line against Huddersfield Town tomorrow he is determined to play through his problems.
“From a personal point of view, of course it has been a bit frustrating,” he said. “Hitting the crossbar twice against Derby on the opening day of the season and then again against Burton. But it could have been so different.
“But I’m the kind of player, though, that if I miss a chance I won’t dwell on it.
“I’ll go again straight away and hopefully the Bolton fans have seen that of me so far.
“I feel as though I’ve played well in the games that I’ve figured so far – of course, as a striker you want goals, but ultimately your game-play is important too and the effort that you put in.”
If you take into consideration the end of last season, albeit in a struggling Blackpool team, then Madine has actually gone 1,073 minutes – some 17.8 hours – without celebrating a goal in the Championship or Capital One Cup.
Lennon has kept faith with his striker, who it must be said was signed as a target man, and remains pleased with his overall impact since joining the club.
“Gary is a good player,” he said. “It hasn’t gone for him so far but I’m sure it will. He just needs to keep getting in there and it will come.
“We do need to be more clinical, we do need more quality in the final third, but I can’t ask any more from Gary or any of my players in terms of effort.”
Lennon’s search for more firepower will continue into next week. But in the meantime, Madine admits his manager is working hard in training to bring the best out the strikers already at the club.
“The gaffer is a perfectionist,” he told the club’s match-day programme. “He’s the kind of manager where I could go and put five out of five shots in the back of the net but as soon as I miss one, he’s on you.
“That’s not a bad thing, not at all. He always wants more from you and to be the best that you possibly can. He constantly keeps you on your toes and a lot of players, myself included, need that.
“He doesn’t allow for complacency and that’s a great trait to have as a manager. He’s experienced and he knows what he wants from his team.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13768938.Madine__I_won_t_dwell_on_my_Wanderers_goal_drought/