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Fulham striker
Erik Nevland |
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Fulham striker Erik Nevland has revealed his disappointment at his lack of starts this season but understands he must stay patient.
The Norwegian international has failed to start a single game in all competitions with manager Roy Hodgson preferring the combination of Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora up front.
The 31-year-old, who signed for the Cottagers in January 2008 for £1.85million from FC Groningen, played a significant part in helping the West London club avoid the drop with two vital goals in the run-in last term.
The former Manchester United forward replaced Zamora against Portsmouth at the weekend and put the game beyond doubt with two goals in ten minutes.
"If I score every time I come off the bench it's all right," Nevland said.
"I'm a football player and I want to play as much as possible, and in that perspective it's a bit disappointing.
"But we have two great strikers in Johnson and Zamora, so I have to be patient and do my job when I have to.
"I came on in a very pleasant time when Portsmouth had to score to equalise and there was a lot of space to run in and that's what I like. Luckily I could take advantage of that."
With Johnson claiming his first league goal since November against Pompey and partner Zamora not scoring a league goal since September the pair have come in for some criticism but Nevland says that this is unfair.
"The two strikers have been playing well, so I don't understand why they're getting any stick," he added.
"It's nice for me to get on and score when I get a chance. It was not that hard to get off the bench as there was space to run in.
"There have been a lot of games when I've come on and haven't been able to make an impact.
"I proved that I can score at this level so I'll leave it there."