ANDI’S BEEN SO HANDY FOR CITY
ANDREAS Weimann has been a shining light in a disappointing Bristol City season – and is aiming to round it off by hitting the 20-goal mark.
The 30-year-old Austrian had netted 17 times prior to the weekend, beating his previous best haul of 12 when he was working in tandem with Belgian powerhouse Christian Benteke at Aston Villa in the Premier League nine years ago.
Weimann believes that operating more centrally has been a key factor in his unprecedented potency. That switch has seen him forge a strong understanding with 33-yearold battering ram Chris Martin which was not possible last season when Weimann was sidelined by a cruciate ligament injury.
“In previous seasons I’ve been used on the wing a lot, but this season I’ve been mostly playing through the middle off the two strikers, which has allowed me a bit more freedom to run into the box without being tracked,” Weimann explained. “That has led to more chances and I’ve always backed myself to score when I get in front of goal.
Unbelievable
“Playing with a target man also suits me, because they do the hard work with the flicks and holding defenders off and I try to get in behind or run where I think the space will be. Benteke was unbelievable because he either won the header or got hold of every ball that came up to him.
“He was the best I’ve played with but Chris has got a few assists for me this season as well and, even when he’s not assisting, he’s always making life hard for the defenders.
“Before the start of the season, I didn’t expect to be in this position after my injury but, now I am so close, it would be nice to get 20.”
Weimann’s efforts for lowly City have contributed to a goals-for column that placed them just one or two short of promotion hopefuls Blackburn and Middlesbrough before yesterday’s home match with West Brom.
The ex-Derby attacker argues that record can provide the platform for an improved campaign next term, although the Robins’ Achilles heel was exposed again at Barnsley in midweek when both of the hosts’ goals in a 2-0 defeat came from corners.
“At the start of the season, people were questioning where the goals were going to come from, so I think we have proven them wrong,” Weimann reasoned.
“Unfortunately, we’ve conceded too many and have not defended set-pieces well enough. If we can manage to sort that, then why can’t we move forward next season?”
Before then, however, Weimann has insisted that Nigel Pearson’s men, who are all but mathematically safe from relegation, must end the season better than last term when three points were picked up from a winless run-in of ten games.
“We don’t want this season to end like the last one did and the club not being a happy place,” he stressed. “We have a young team and the more momentum we can take into next season the better.
Consistency
“We’ve had some really good wins this season but some really bad losses as well, so we need to show some consistency in our remaining games.”
Weimann is also keen to take his form into 2022-23 with the hope that he could win his first international cap in seven years and play in Austria’s first World Cup since 1998. He was only placed on standby for Austria’s play-off semi-final against Wales on Thursday after which the winners will face either Scotland or Ukraine to decide who goes to Qatar.
Should Das Team negotiate their way through, though, Weimann is determined not to be overlooked again.
“There were rumours that I might be in this squad, so I was bit disappointed because I thought, ‘If not now, when?’, as this has been my best season,” he admitted. “I hope they can win. Then, the only thing I can do is keep playing well and scoring goals - and see if that gets me in the squad or not.”