Sheffield Wednesday attacker Fernando Forestieri has spoken of his desire to force his way back into the Owls' first-team, following his difficult start to the campaign at Hillsborough.
The Italian has yet to start a game under new manager Garry Monk, having served a six-match ban for alleged racist abuse in a friendly last year at the start of the 40-year-old's tenure at the club in September.
Forestieri has however come off the bench for Wednesday in each of their last four games, and scored his first goal of the season in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Swansea City at Hillsborough.
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It seems the forward is keen to use that breakthrough on Saturday as a springboard back into the side, as speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post after that game, Forestieri said: “I am hungry. I had my six-game ban and since then the team have played well so I had to wait for my chance.
“I can’t change what happened in the past. I just need to prove I can play for Wednesday.
"I was very happy to score. I am happy to get some minutes in my legs. I need to keep going and when I get a chance I need to try and play well and help the team."
Discussing his approach to force his way back into the side behind the scenes, the 29-year-old added: “I am training hard every day. I am happy when I am in the squad but I am happier when I play.”
Despite the fact he has only been used sparingly by Monk so far this season, it seems Forestieri is still keen to work with the recently appointed Wednesday boss, as he continued: “I respect the new coach. He knows what he is doing. I just need to keep going and try to help the team.
“I have a lot of friends in the team and I want the team to win and that is the most important thing.
“It is not about one player. We all need to push in the same way to try and do something important for.”
The Verdict
I do think Forestieri may soon see his wish come true and get his chance back in the starting lineup for Wednesday.
Having got off the mark for the season on Saturday, the attacker may feel that he has sent something of a reminder to Monk about what he can do for the Owls going forward.
Indeed, with Saturday being the first time in seven games that Wednesday scored more than once in 90 minutes, Monk may be tempted to turn to Forestieri more often in his search for a source of goals.
Add to that the busy period of fixtures that is one the horizon after the international break, and that potential extra need to rotate the squad could further boost Forestieri's hopes of a return to the lineup sooner rather than later.