Peter Odemwingie admits the events of the last few weeks have taught him how to handle criticism and a dip in confidence.
Baggies striker offers perfect response to critics
Peter Odemwingie admits the events of the last few weeks have taught him how to handle criticism and a dip in confidence.
The West Brom striker concedes that he entered the derby duel with Wolves on Sunday with plenty of question marks hanging over him.
He believes he put in a below-par showing in a 2-2 draw with Sunderland prior to the international break, and suffered the disappointment of failing to qualify for the African Cup of Nations while away with Nigeria.
Those fixtures hardly provided him with the best preparation for a Black Country derby with Wolves, but Odemwingie responded in style.
He stepped off the bench to wrap up a 2-0 win for the Baggies and the 30-year-old striker feels he is now better placed to deal with setbacks he may suffer in the future.
"I wouldn't say that I am down," he told the club's
official website.
"I worry about the team a lot and the gaffer has noticed that I am a sensitive person and I do worry about the team and my performance.
Concentrate
"But in the last two games we drew.
"We had a good draw against Fulham and we went away to Sunderland and got a point as well so we were on the way up and the problems weren't so exaggerated.
"I had to take in stuff that I didn't really like to hear last week from here and there but this situation has also taught me that sometimes you have to let things pass, just concentrate on your work and keep going."
He added: "It was nice to score with my first scoring chance.
"I could feel the importance of this game from the first day I arrived back from the national team with the way the fans were talking about it.
"I knew it was a big game so when I scored the goal I felt double joy.
"We climbed the table and it was an important three points and the first home victory is great."
