Speaking to reporters after his side’s 2-1 win over Basaksehir FK in a Turkish Super Lig encounter on Sunday, Trabzonspor manager Fatih Tekke defended Paul Onuachu following his poor run in front of goal.
The Nigeria international has failed to find the back of the net in seven consecutive Super Lig matches, drawing another blank in his latest outing despite registering four shots, none of which was on target.
Onuachu was arguably the standout performer for Trabzonspor last season, scoring 22 goals in the league to share the Goal King award with İstanbul Başakşehir’s Eldor Shomurodov .
The FC Ebedei product inspired Trabzonspor to Türkiye Kupası glory, netting a brace against Konyaspor in the final.
Onuachu failed to capitalise on the goalscoring opportunities he had yesterday before making way for Ozan Tufan in the 87th minute.
Tekke urged supporters to be patient with Onuachu despite his recent struggles in front of goal.
“They should be patient with Paul too; even if he plays poorly in two games, he shows this performance in three training sessions. Three training sessions… Nobody knows about this,” Tekke was quoted as saying by Karadeniz.
The Trabzonspor boss stressed that players are human and can naturally experience fluctuations in form, and suggested that it is only a matter of time before the Nigerian gets back among the goals.
“The players who will be on the field are not robots; these people have feelings, they have problems.
“Did he score a goal? He is going to start scoring, he is going to.”
Despite Onuachu’s barren spell, Tekke has kept faith in the lanky striker, starting him in all three of Trabzonspor’s matches this season.
(The Sun)
