TOTTENHAM STRIKER Roberto Soldado has been handed special training measures to improve his fortunes in front of goal, manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed.
The 29-year-old arrived last year for what was then a club-record €33 million fee but has struggled to carry his form from Valencia over to England, scoring just six league goals – without a single one so far this season.
Soldado hit the post in their Europa League victory against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday but, with his manager ruing his lack of luck, he has introduced special drills in training to improve his tally.
“We work very hard at training and create the exercises for him to improve his finishing in front of goal,” Pochettino told the press.
“We need to give Soldado the chances to play again and keep him calm because a striker always wants to score.
“Against Partizan he created chances pretty well and was unlucky in front of goal. Maybe next time he will score.
“In football it’s always mental and emotions, performances, physical conditions, all these things affect your display … but his performance was very good. For me, he was unlucky with his finishing.”
The former Valencia striker has seen added competition for places with the form of top goalscorer Harry Kane, who has 11 goals already this season and has become a favourite with the home fans.
Tottenham sit 10th in the league but could move three places higher with victory against Everton on Sunday.
