Erik Nevland has revealed his disappointment at his lack of starts but understands he must stay patient.
Cottagers striker hoping brace can hand him first start of season
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.
Patience
"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."
