Jeff needs more time to be our perfect 10
SEAN DYCHE has urged Burnley fans to be more patient with Jeff Hendrick.
Dyche knows some supporters question Hendrick because they feel he can contribute more. But the manager is pleased with the midfielder, who teed up Jack Cork for the extra-time winner against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Burnley manager says fans should remember Hendrick is still adapting to the No10 role.
“I thought he was absolutely tremendous,” said Dyche. “They forget he’s a midfield player going into that No10 slot and it takes time to develop in that role.
“It’s not an overnight thing. He’s not overly criticised but sometimes fans think, ‘Come on, give us a bit more’.
“Sometimes people have questions about players, but I think the last couple of games, people have been pleased with his performances. I certainly have.” Dyche did not put a timescale on how long Hendrick needed to adjust and said: “Some grip hold of a new concept, some take more time. Jeff is a relatively young player, especially in Premier League terms.”
Despite needing extra-time to progress in the Europa League for the second week running, Dyche insisted his players would be ready for Watford tomorrow.
“The will is there and we’ve shown we’ve got that,” he said. “The players’ mental and physical fitness is absolutely fantastic, so they’ll be ready.”
Watford manager Javi Gracia said that compared to the colourful Dyche, he was the grey man of football – and he would not have it any other way.
Gracia prefers a more low-key approach in public and private but the Spaniard says his team are out to turn up the volume this season, even if he is not.
“Other coaches do their work in a different way,” said Gracia. “The way I can improve my players is my personality, my style of play, my style of life. I want to enjoy this way. I think I don’t need to change my character.”
Watford finished 14th last season, 13 points behind Burnley, but Gracia wants to follow them into Europe this season. He said: “I would like us to qualify for Europe. We will try.” SALOMON RONDON is revelling in his role as the latest owner of Newcastle’s iconic No9 shirt.
The striker, set to start his first Toon game in the lunchtime kick-off at Cardiff, loves the adulation that comes with it.
He admits the raucous reception he received from a sell-out St James’ Park crowd when coming on as a second-half substitute against Tottenham last weekend blew him and his family away.
In stature and character, Venezuelan Rondon seems a natural fit for a shirt worn by Geordie legends Alan Shearer, Malcolm Macdonald and ‘Wor’ Jackie Milburn.
He wants to be a big noise on Tyneside after joining on a season-long loan from West Brom.
“I feel lucky to be here. When West Brom went down it was difficult and I’m just really grateful to be back in the Premier League again,” said Rondon, 28.
“My target is to score goals and stay permanently.
“I know all about the No9s. When I signed my contract there was a picture of all the great goalscorers – Alan Shearer at the top with 206. The pressure is big but I like that and I want to make the fans proud by wearing this shirt the way Shearer did. “I know all about the amazing players who have been here – Nolberto Solano, Jonas Gutierrez, how well they did. And when I was growing up, I watched Faustino Asprilla and that hat-trick against Barcelona. “That was big because in Venezuela and the whole of South American everyone loves their football so much.” If he is making headlines and becomes the face of Rafa Benitez’s side this season, so much the better because that will mean he is doing the business on the pitch.
The fiercely patriotic Venezuelan is his nation’s most high-profile footballing export and Rondon is rightly proud of his achievements in Spain, Russia and, for the past three years, England.
But success has come at a high price for a player who cannot enjoy the fruits of his labours back home in the way he hopes to around the streets of Newcastle.
He has previously talked about the downside of being one of his troubled country’s most famous sportsmen and the fact he cannot walk around Caracas in the way he can 5,000 miles away from his homeland.
“Life in Caracas is not life,” he said shortly after arriving at West Brom from Zenit St Petersburg. “The city is chaos. You cannot live there now.”
Almost three years on and he admits the situation is far from straightforward for him and his family – his parents live in Venezuela.
He said: “I’m a footballer, not an economist, but of course it is a bad situation for the people there, for me as well and for all Venezuelans around the world because we’ve got family there.
“It is a difficult moment. I did not go back this summer. I know my position as the only player in the Premier League. Everyone recognises me. It is best I stay quiet. My mum and dad, it is better to get them to visit me.” While Rondon knows he has a responsibility to the Geordie nation, it is his own people who drive him on. “The only way to make them happy or for them to forget their problems is by playing football,” he said. “Every weekend, they try to watch the Premier League and La Liga. It is a distraction. “Moving here has been big news for the people. They’d call and ask, ‘Are you going to Newcastle?’ You can say nothing then. When it was official, people were very happy.”