Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
RHODES STILL HAS THAT DRIVE
Jordan says the arrival of Pulis can salvage his career at Hillsborough
JORDAN RHODES hopes the arrival of Tony Pulis will give him a chance to save his Sheffield Wednesday career.
Owls striker Rhodes was demoted to the bench and made only two starts this season under Pulis’s Hillsborough predecessor Garry Monk.
But Wednesday have struggled for goals in the league and Rhodes has been trying to catch Pulis’s eye in training this week. “We’ve got a new manager in place and it’s up to me and everybody else to try and impress him,” he said.
“As a footballer you want to play 90 minutes, week in and week out. Not being able to do that was frustrating.
“Footballers are desperate to play every minute.
Now that there’s a new manager in charge there are possibilities for everyone. It’s going to be up to us to be as ready as we can to try and take them.”
Rhodes’s contract expires at the end of the season and the club’s re- cord £8million signing, who o is one of Wednesday’s top p earners, faces a fight to win n a new one due to his poor r return of just 14 goals in 82 2 games. The Scot wants to o stay at Hillsborough and d knows that will happen n only if he scores more goals. .
“The only way I’m going g to get another contract t with Sheffield Wednesday is by scoring goals and playing in a team that’s winning,” he said.
“I know that’s the long-term aim, but the short-term aim is to get in the team and do well. I’ve got to work as hard as I can to get into the team, first and foremost, and be a valuable team member.”
Rhodes, 30, is excited to work with Pulis (above), describing the former West Brom and Crystal Palace boss as “a winner.” But he was still sad to see Monk get sacked. “He was a nice man and was fair to me in the things he said,” added the former Blackburn and Middlesbrough striker. “It’s unfortunate that people do lose jobs in this industry.
“I’m sure there will be a few changes in formation and personnel under the new manager. Hard work and endeavour – that’s his ethos. He’s a winner and he wants winners in his team.”