Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson backs misfiring Ghanaian striker Jordan Ayew

Published on: 05 November 2018

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson is confident the goals will come for his Ghanaian forward Jordan Ayew and his fellow striker Alexander Sorloth after a difficult start to this season's Premier League campaign.

The Swansea City loanee is yet to score in a Palace shirt since joining on loan this summer, while Sorloth has only scored once for the Eagles since signing in January, with his solitary strike coming against Swansea City in the Carabao Cup in August.

But Hodgson insists that both are working hard on the training ground and that their rewards will come.

"I am not concerned in the sense that I am worried that these two players don't understand what their jobs are and what they need to do to get better and score some goals, I am not worried at all," Hodgson was quoted by Football.London to have said.

"But of course I shall be more than happy, like all supporters of my club, when those goals start to go in, because it will be great for the player concerned and his confidence will grow, and he will feel it is reward for the work he is putting in each day on the training field.

"And those guys couldn't be doing more every day in terms of their effort and determination to do well, and the rest of us will get the reward too, from seeing the benefits of the goals and the points and the fans will see that too."

The two players have admitted to be struggling for goal with the Ghana international insisting he is not losing sleep over his predicament.

Hodgson is in full of praise for the duo, insisting their attitude towards their positive attitude towards the setback will make them overcome.

"Absolutely. He needs to continue believing in himself, like all these players," Hodgson said when asked about Ayew's approach and comments on his difficulties.

"I don't know if it happened this year, but for the last two years in the first six or seven games, Harry Kane was being held up as someone who has lost it because he hasn't scored in the first half a dozen games. That's the way it is.

"I tend to look longer than that and I think that if people have got the ability, they will come good.

"And I am glad to hear that he [Ayew] believes in his ability and I am glad to hear that he feels if he keeps working hard and doing the right things, he will turn it around.

"I don't think we should be dismissing people because they haven't scored the goals. It is stll early on in the season and the season is quite long and we will need all of the players we have got in the squad because we don't have a massive squad in depth."

Comments