Chris Wood says he is flourishing at Nottingham Forest because he feels the appreciation of boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
The New Zealand striker, 32, has been the surprise story of the Premier League season, scoring eight goals in 12 top-flight appearances – a tally bettered only by Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
Indeed, since Nuno took over at Forest Wood has netted 19 in 28 Premier League games and puts that down to finding a manager who knows how to get the best out of him.
In an interview with BBC Sport, he said: "You have to find where you are appreciated. Managers have their own style and how they want to play games.
"That's not anything I can control. It just means you might not be in the right area or the manager's cup of tea. There's always a manager who likes a number nine, or a false nine.
"I'm not a man who is going to beat two or three players and stick it in the top corner, I'm a man who relies on service. If they can't supply me, I can't score.
"It's about trying to find the role which fits everyone and fortunately under Nuno it has.
"The six or seven loans I had as a youngster taught me a lot about being appreciated and valued. It's not always about you as a person or player, it's how you connect and build with a team. A lot of it is out of your control."
Wood also credited now Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth for some useful advice when he was technical director at West Brom, one of the 11 English clubs Wood represented before landing at a 12th with Forest.
He added: "It's about making coming down the other side as small as possible to bounce back up and make a new mountain.
"Mentality is huge in sport and in football. If you can control that side of the game it helps.
"You go through these mountains and waves through the whole season. It's not just a case of skyrocketing. That's what I got told by [former technical director] Dan Ashworth when I was at West Brom. It's not always going to be plain sailing.
"There are going to be those waves and you have to ride with them and hope the downside is as small as possible to get the upsides as big as possible."
Nice 1-4 Rangers: Igamane stars in dominant away triumph
Rangers took a huge step in their quest for the knockout stages of the Europa League after comfortably dispatching Nice 4-1, with Hamza Igamane scoring twice.
The result moved Rangers up to ninth in the new 36-team league standings and just outside the automatic qualification places on goal difference with three games remaining.
After surviving an early VAR review, which saw three separate incidents looked at, Rangers took the lead in the 35th minute through Vaclav Cerny, with his strike aided by a deflection from Pablo Rosario.
Rosario was involved again in Rangers' second, allowing Dujon Sterling's searching pass to go over his head, which resulted in Mohamed Diomande stealing in and brilliantly lifting the ball over Marcin Bulka.
It got even better for Philippe Clement's side in first-half stoppage time when Mohamed Abdelmonem's poor back pass was picked up by Igamane, who finished comfortably after rounding Bulka.
Nice's defensive woes continued shortly after the break when Rosario saw his pass cut out by Igamane, who powered towards goal and slotting his second of the game into the bottom left corner.
Badredine Bouanani's stunning free-kick seven minutes from time reduced the deficit, though Rangers should have scored their fifth soon after, only for substitute Cyriel Dessers to fire wide from close range.
Data Debrief: Igamane shows his worth
Ahead of kick-off, eyebrows were raised when top scorer Dessers was named among the substitutes, but Rangers were able to showcase the plethora of attacking options at their disposal, none more so than Igamane.
He grabbed two goals and an assist, while also recording more touches in the opposition box (eight) and creating more chances (three) than any of his team-mates. His expected goals (xG) tally of 0.53 was a total only bettered by Dessers (0.74) for Rangers.
Igamane also became the youngest Rangers player (22 years, 26 days) to score two goals in an away major European game since David McPherson netted four against Valletta in Malta back in September 1983, aged 19.
Rangers scored four or more goals in an away major European game for the eighth time, with this the first time they had done so since a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund in February 2022.
Manchester United 3-2 Bodo/Glimt: Hojlund brace rescues Amorim's welcome party
Rasmus Hojlund scored twice to rescue Ruben Amorim's Old Trafford welcome party as Manchester United came from behind to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League.
The Portuguese was taking charge of his first home game after overseeing a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, and he would have been fearing the worst when a quickfire double from the visitors cancelled out Alejandro Garnacho's first-minute opener.
But Norwegian forward Hojlund bagged either side of half-time to earn all three points and leave United a point off the top eight in the league phase.
United were ahead inside 50 seconds when Hojlund caught Nikita Haikan dawdling, allowing Garnacho to tap into an open goal on the follow-up.
Hakon Evjen bent in a beautiful left-footed equaliser and four minutes later Tyrell Malacia - back playing for the first time in 17 months - was outmuscled by Philip Zinckernagel, who then rifled one into the bottom-left corner.
Shortly before the break, Hojlund restored parity on the volley after brilliantly taking down Noussair Mazraoui's dinked cross and then finished a well-worked move from six yards when meeting Manuel Ugarte's centre five minutes after the restart.
Garnacho wasted two favourable opportunities when breaking in behind, before bending another effort high and wide after a four-on-two break.
Marcus Rashford also flashed wide as United sought to add breathing space but, in the end, winning by the odd goal in five was enough to get Amorim a first win as boss.
Data Debrief: Ruben up and running with a touch of coincidence
Amorim can breathe a little sigh of relief with his United victory. This fixture marked only the second time a side had ever scored two goals inside 23 minutes in an away major European game against the Red Devils.
The first occasion was against Sporting Braga back in October 2012 (two goals in 20 minutes) where a certain Amorim was coincidentally playing for the visitors.
It could hardly have been a better start to the game for the new boss with Garnacho scoring after 48 seconds, though. It saw United score in the opening minute of a major European game for the first time since March 1991, when Brian McClair netted the opener against Montpellier in a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup tie.
United have now won their last two European matches (2-0 vs PAOK Salonika under Ruud van Nistelrooy and 3-2 on Thursday under Amorim), more than they did in their last 11 under former boss Erik ten Hag (W1 D5 L5).
Busby, Shaw upbeat as Reggae Girlz ready to shine in Friendly showdown against South Africa
Head coach Hubert Busby and his Reggae Girlz are hoping to close out their 2024 campaign with victories against South Africa as they kick off their two-match friendly international series on Friday at the Montego Bay Sports Complex.
Game time is at 8:00pm.
Though preparations for the friendlies faced logistical hurdles, including uncooperative weather, Busby credited the team for staying focused ahead of the opening fixture against the Banyana Banyana, who they last met in 2019 when they played out a 1-1 stalemate in Durban.
“There have been challenges logistically, and obviously the weather hasn’t been helpful. But credit to the players and staff for staying focused on the task at hand, as this is another great opportunity for us to come together as a team,” Busby said in a pre-game interview.
Busby emphasized that these friendlies are more than just a chance to play, as they represent crucial blocks in building a foundation for success heading into 2025 and beyond, including the World Cup qualifiers and a potential road to Brazil 2027.
“It’s about laying the foundation, the building blocks for success, both on and off the pitch. It’s important that we take two good performances and, obviously, results heading into the February window. That should set a good foundation for the World Cup qualifiers later in the year,” he explained.
On that note, Busby revealed that plans are well underway to maximize every Fifa window leading up to the qualifiers, including securing competitive opponents to prepare for the challenges of Concacaf.
“We’re ahead of the game now in terms of utilising each and every window and making sure we have the right opponent that fits what we’re looking for, especially as it pertains to Concacaf,” Busby shared.
With this being the Girlz first game at home since their Olympic qualifying playoff game against Canada last September and first in Montego Bay since the Paraguay friendly in 2022, it adds another layer of excitement for the team.
The second contest will take place on Monday at the same venue.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring the game to another part of the country, which is a big part of spreading and growing the game throughout Jamaica. So we’re looking forward to seeing a packed house on Friday and Monday,” Busby noted.
For Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, the friendlies mark a long-awaited return to the squad after a 14-month absence. The talismanic striker, who has become a global football star, said her return feels like a fresh start given the changes within the team.
“It’s been 14 months since my last time being with the girls. It almost feels like I’m a new player because there’s been so much change in terms of the staff and so on, but it’s been good with the group. Training has been going well, and we’re raring to go,” Shaw declared.
The towering Manchester City stalwart, who found the Girlz goal when the two teams last met, also shared her excitement about playing in front of Jamaican fans again and encouraged supporters to come out in full force.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played in Jamaica, and we’re very excited to be here. We’ve always had really good support, especially in Montego Bay. We just want to thank everyone for the support they’ve given us throughout the journey so far and look forward to seeing everyone at the games on Friday and Monday,” Shaw said.
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