Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has given his full support to striker Christian Benteke, despite him struggling to find goals in his second term in English football.
The Belgium started the season much-like he ended the last, scoring goals for fun, with a brace away at Arsenal in their 3-1 victory, however, in the last six games, he has failed to score a single goal.
His recent failures came at home to Sunderland in a 0-0 draw and Lambert even brought off the Belgium during the match for the first time ever.
Despite his recent poor form in front of goal, Lambert has backed his striker to find his scoring-boots sooner rather than later.
He said: “Everyone has times when they find it hard. That’s tough because then you have to make a decision, do you bring him off, do you start him?
“But you’re doing it for the benefit of him as well. He’ll come through it.
“It’s important to try and keep him up. You don’t chastise him, he’s my player and you pick them up.
“That’s the way I try and do it. I’m pretty sure his team-mates will try and do it.
“When you set yourself that standard, and it was an extraordinary standard, if you even blip out of it then it can be really noticeable.
“Deciding to sub him wasn’t a hard decision. You make a decision for the good of the team and the club, he wasn’t up to scratch in the way that he normally is. I decided that was it.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
