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ADAM Le Fondre has had to bite his tongue for most of Wanderers’ Championship campaign – but freed by an overdue run in the team he is not shy about making predictions for the run-in.
Saturday’s winning goal against Aston Villa was only his fourth of the season – putting him level with Sammy Ameobi at the top of a list of players still employed at the Macron.
That Le Fondre is finally getting the game time he has craved is, of course, down to Gary Madine’s departure to Cardiff City. Before that, the 31-year-old old had been restricted to substitute cameos and a barren run of just one league start in six months.
Now he has his feet back under the table, however, he Is focussed on what he wants to achieve between now and the end of the season.
“I want to score the goals to keep Bolton Wanderers in the Championship,” he told The Bolton News.
“I have barely played all season. Aston Villa was only my second home game since the first game of the season against Leeds.
“Everyone knows what I am like, I want to play. The gaffer certainly knows it.
“When I play, I score goals, it’s what I’ll always be about.”
Le Fondre’s boast is backed up by a good scoring record at Bolton.
In 42 starts for the club – including his two loan spells – he has managed 17 goals.
In between, he has had less successful stints at Wigan (one goal in just three starts), Cardiff (two in 20 games started) and Wolves (two in 11 games started) – which could be explained to some degree by the fact he was often played as a wide man, rather than a centre-forward.
Phil Parkinson had struggled to fit Le Fondre into the equation while the focal point of his attack was Madine but after being forced into a rethink on January deadline day, the results have been promising.
If the league table had been started on February 1, Bolton would be 10th boasting a conservative seven goals, and 10 conceded, but a solid 13 points from 10 games.
Le Fondre has grabbed himself a couple of goals to add to the total but his work-rate has been just as important to the Whites survival effort.
“Alfie is looking as fit as he has for a long, long time,” said Parkinson in his post-match interview on Sky Sports on Saturday evening.
Despite the bravado, Le Fondre knows his limitations, seeking to make up for them in other ways.
“I have to be a nuisance," he said. “It’s different now I’m up front rather than Gaz. He’s the big man who’s great in the air, bring people into play with his chest. I have to be a bit more of a pest and make things awkward for defenders.
“I am not going up to win headers, I’m going up to make sure he doesn’t win it clean and put it 30 yards behind us."
The win against Villa preserves a six-point gap on the bottom three clubs and Le Fondre reckons the manner of victory summed up how hard Parkinson's side have worked to be in their current position.
“That showed the grit, the determination of the whole squad. I thought we were brilliant," he said.
“I probably should have had a second. I took the one I had in the second half a bit early and didn’t realise what time I had. But I am happy to score a goal and win the three points for us.
"We have got what it takes to stay up. We just have to keep working at those levels.
“For me, I have said all along if I start games I’ll score goals and hopefully this is the start of a rich vein of form which will help us stay up."
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/16098369.when-i-play-i-score-goals-bolton-strikers-survival-pledge/?ref=mr&lp=4
Saturday’s winning goal against Aston Villa was only his fourth of the season – putting him level with Sammy Ameobi at the top of a list of players still employed at the Macron.
That Le Fondre is finally getting the game time he has craved is, of course, down to Gary Madine’s departure to Cardiff City. Before that, the 31-year-old old had been restricted to substitute cameos and a barren run of just one league start in six months.
Now he has his feet back under the table, however, he Is focussed on what he wants to achieve between now and the end of the season.
“I want to score the goals to keep Bolton Wanderers in the Championship,” he told The Bolton News.
“I have barely played all season. Aston Villa was only my second home game since the first game of the season against Leeds.
“Everyone knows what I am like, I want to play. The gaffer certainly knows it.
“When I play, I score goals, it’s what I’ll always be about.”
Le Fondre’s boast is backed up by a good scoring record at Bolton.
In 42 starts for the club – including his two loan spells – he has managed 17 goals.
In between, he has had less successful stints at Wigan (one goal in just three starts), Cardiff (two in 20 games started) and Wolves (two in 11 games started) – which could be explained to some degree by the fact he was often played as a wide man, rather than a centre-forward.
Phil Parkinson had struggled to fit Le Fondre into the equation while the focal point of his attack was Madine but after being forced into a rethink on January deadline day, the results have been promising.
If the league table had been started on February 1, Bolton would be 10th boasting a conservative seven goals, and 10 conceded, but a solid 13 points from 10 games.
Le Fondre has grabbed himself a couple of goals to add to the total but his work-rate has been just as important to the Whites survival effort.
“Alfie is looking as fit as he has for a long, long time,” said Parkinson in his post-match interview on Sky Sports on Saturday evening.
Despite the bravado, Le Fondre knows his limitations, seeking to make up for them in other ways.
“I have to be a nuisance," he said. “It’s different now I’m up front rather than Gaz. He’s the big man who’s great in the air, bring people into play with his chest. I have to be a bit more of a pest and make things awkward for defenders.
“I am not going up to win headers, I’m going up to make sure he doesn’t win it clean and put it 30 yards behind us."
The win against Villa preserves a six-point gap on the bottom three clubs and Le Fondre reckons the manner of victory summed up how hard Parkinson's side have worked to be in their current position.
“That showed the grit, the determination of the whole squad. I thought we were brilliant," he said.
“I probably should have had a second. I took the one I had in the second half a bit early and didn’t realise what time I had. But I am happy to score a goal and win the three points for us.
"We have got what it takes to stay up. We just have to keep working at those levels.
“For me, I have said all along if I start games I’ll score goals and hopefully this is the start of a rich vein of form which will help us stay up."
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/16098369.when-i-play-i-score-goals-bolton-strikers-survival-pledge/?ref=mr&lp=4
