Planet Swans ArchivesKenny Jackett spent £300,000 on Rory Fallon last season to prise him away from Swindon and to the Liberty Stadium. 11 goals have followed for the big striker in 40 appearances since that switch – including one spectacular strike at the Millennium Stadium last May.
But Kenny Jackett is now looking from more from the Kiwi as he looks to not only reach the third round of the FA Cup but also to push on with their promotion challenge as they go into one of the busiest times of the season.
Jackett’s men will play 11 league games in the next two months as well as tomorrow’s Cup tie and maybe future cup ties – a period that will surely shape their destiny. It was at this time of year last season that the wheels to what seemed an unstoppable train started to wobble and that is something that needs to be avoided this time around. And one of the things Jackett is looking to stop that happening is goals from one of Swansea’s most expensive imports
“Rory’s build-up play and his competitiveness are very good,” the Swansea manager said. “He competes for the first ball very well, he gets balls on his chest and holds them up very well. His work ethic and the way he leads the line for us are very good. But both he and I would like to see more strikes at goal. “His general game is very competitive, but he needs to add more goal threat. “By the end of each game he plays, we want Rory to have had more efforts on goal because all strikers thrive on them. “Even if you don’t score it doesn’t matter – if you’re having shots you’ll keep getting in there and eventually the goals will come.”
“His game is us getting balls into the box and in some games we haven’t done a lot of that,” he added. “That makes life difficult for Rory. Last Sunday against Bristol City, there were quite a few balls into the box and he was unlucky on a couple of occasions. “Some games when we’ve got balls into the box a lot Rory has needed to do more to get on the end of them, on other days we’ve needed to do more for him. “Most of the time it’s a bit of both – you need better service and you need the player to create more for himself. “Funnily enough, a lot of Rory’s goals and efforts this season have been created by Tommy Williams. He’s not in the side at the moment, but that can’t stop Rory getting goals.”
Jackett is right we do need Fallon to start finding the target on a regular basis – we were last seasons leading scorers at this level but that isn’t likely to be repeated this time around unless those that did last season start doing again.
