ALL IS WELLS AS NAHKI THRIVES
QPR striker Nahki Wells is in goal-grabbing mood this season – and believes manager Mark Warburton deserves a chunk of the credit. The 29-year-old had netted six times in six Championship starts ahead of yesterday’s trip to Hull – just one shy of his grand total from last season under former Hoops boss Steve McClaren. And according to Wells, the goals have been the product of a faith shown in more patient and creative football by Warburton that has seen the R’s sit six points better off than they were at the same stage last season. “Steve had us set up to be quite resilient and then play counter-attacking football, although at times he did have us playing some of the best football in the league,” admitted the former Huddersfield forward. “This season Mark has got us to believe in our attacking ability and now I think I am reaping the benefits as a striker. “We are more creative which allows me to score more goals and that is down to the system. I still think I should have scored more last season but I like the way we play now.” Back for a second successive loan spell at Loftus Road from parent club Burnley, Wells also feels he is showing some of the form that led the Premier League outfit to spend £5m on him back in 2017. The Bermudan was restricted to just nine top-flight outings during his first season under Sean Dyche and after Clarets duo Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood turned in double figures last year, there was even less scope for Wells to play a part at Turf Moor. “I have spent more time at QPR than I have at Burnley now but I see myself as fortunate to be able to come back here this season,” he said.
“This year is a big year for me and I am being given the opportunity to put in good performances and score goals.
“I have got to give the strikers at Burnley huge credit because they have been amazing but it just shows what I have been up against – I have been on the outside looking in, and rightly so.
“I still believe that I have a lot to offer that football club because they signed me for a reason and I feel like I am showing them that this season.”
Wells made his international debut for Bermuda as a teenager back in 2007 and, after a decade of patchy appearances, helped fire his national team to their first ever Gold Cup over the summer, where he scored against Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Reason
“When I broke onto the scene and started playing for the team initially, we were playing against other small Caribbean nations but at the time they felt like big games,” said Wells.
“In the last six months we have faced huge Central American countries and that just shows how far we have come for such a small nation.
“I am in good goalscoring form for both club and country so I feel to some extent that I have stepped up now and I am able to deliver on both fronts.”
Five goals in his last six international games have moved Wells onto 12 overall but he’s still 20 behind the Bermudan record- holder and his own idol growing up, Shaun Goater.
“In Bermuda we are very passionate about our own people and Shaun was the one who was representing us on the big stage when I was growing up,” he added.
“He made me want to go out and do the same so he was my hero and I am thankful to have got to know him personally and taken his advice over the years.”