Everton’s Nigerian-born striker, Aiyegbeni Yakubu, is confident he can rediscover the goal scoring form which saw him enter the record books of the Liverpool-based English Premier League outfit.
In his debut season with Everton, back in the 2007/08 campaign, Yakubu became the first Everton player to score over 20 goals in a league season since Peter Beardsley. However, the Nigerian international’s progress was truncated by a serious Achilles injury in a November 2008 game against Tottenham at White Hart Lane and had a slow return to fitness. This season, Yakubu has found the back of the net just once, scoring the winning goal against Stoke City, but he believes he is not too far off from hitting peak form and insists he is in the mood to bolster an Everton side that has scored just 14 times in 13 Premier League games this season.
“I always believe I can score and I believe I can score goals like I did here before,” he said. “Even when I don’t score I feel I am not under pressure because I honestly believe I will score no matter what. As a striker you need goals, they give you that confidence. When you start scoring you start to look fresher in games. For me to score means a lot and I think there is more to come. I think my fitness now is really good, much better than last season, even better than two seasons ago. When you are fit it shows in your performance on the pitch. You aren’t tired, you want the ball and you want to run. If you play for Everton, you have to be fit.”
Fighting for the chance
Yakubu, who over the course of his football career has appeared for Nigerian side, Julius Berger; Israeli side Maccabi Haifa; and the England based trio of Derby County, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough, recently started seven consecutive games but returaned to the bench for Everton’s last two outings against Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers. He came off the bench to play in those two games but feels the competition for places within the Everton first team will drive him towards those heights once more. “We have competition in the team,” he said. “Louis Saha is a good striker; then there is Jermaine Beckford and Victor Anichebe, so I have to fight for my place. For me, it’s a challenge. When you have people behind you and by your side and they are watching you and looking to take your place then it is a challenge. You have to work harder on the pitch and give everything. For me to play, I have to take my chances when I get them. I need to keep working hard and hopefully I can start scoring regularly.”
Hopefully, that may come to pass when Everton travels to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland on Monday, November 22.Source:http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Sport/Football/5643855-147/story.csp
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