Bolton need Elmander to shine

With Bolton struggling in the Premier League table, now is the time for record signing Johan Elmander to come good.

The £11million recruit from French outfit Toulouse started his career at the Reebok with a bang when he headed home on his debut as Stoke were brushed aside 3-1 on the opening day of the season, but since then things have not gone according to plan.

The 27-year-old has started nine Premier League games, but has been plagued by niggling injuries since his arrival in the summer and has yet to adjust to life in England.

And to compound Elmander’s misery further the striker has now been dropped by Sweden. National coach Lars Lagerback has omitted the forward from the squad to face Holland in a friendly on Wednesday citing poor form.

Bolton boss Gary Megson pinned a lot of his pre-season hopes on Elmander and he is still confident the Swedish international will find his feet, but he has acknowledged his star man is suffering from a loss of confidence.

Megson said: “There are people who have a record of scoring goals who haven’t done so, like Kevin Nolan and Johan Elmander. I think you could see that there was a little confidence issue with Elmander. I spoke with him at half time and said, ‘You don’t have to do things out of this world each time you get it. Just get hold of it and pass the ball’.”

The Trotters are currently in 13th place in the top flight and football odds of 3.1 to get relegated, but with competition fierce all round they find themselves only three points off the bottom.

With just 11 goals in 13 league games Megson is desperate for his goal getters to find their form before it’s too late.