Why Kenneth Zohore needs to makes sure his 'I'm back' claim is not just idle talk for Cardiff City's sake
By Nathan Blake
Thursday 14th February 2019
Throughout Kenneth Zohore's struggles, I kept saying he needed a 'moment'.
What I meant by that was, even when Zohore came on from cameo appearances from the bench, he just needed a slice of luck, something to drop his way and restore his confidence.
The old age goes that off-colour strikers just need a goal from anywhere, even off their backside. But for Kenneth to get that zip back, he needed something bigger.
Well, at Southampton , it happened for him.
Whether it had been through injury or a lack of game time, I felt Zohore was going into games merely hoping he was going to score. Not believing he would, like an in-form striker.
That's why I thought it was significant he shouted 'I'm back' after bagging the winner at St Mary's.
It was an admission. He knew he'd been away for too long. He'd heard the critics.
But now his confidence is back, he'll try things in the next few games without worrying about the reaction from fans, media or his fellow players. The pressure has been relieved and it gives him leeway.
It actually gave me a tingle watching him say 'I'm back'. I rewound it several times on television, I thought it was that significant.
Because I know deep down he can produce something special, possibly to keep Cardiff up.
And don't be surprised to see Neil Warnock play Zohore and Oumar Niasse together in certain games, like he did in the second half at Southampton. They could be very dangerous together.
It's difficult to put your finger on just why Zohore has come back into form at this moment.
But I sense the Emiliano Sala tragedy has put things into perspective for him.
He may have thought: 'Why am I worrying about football when one of my fellow players has lost his life?' Football isn't that serious.
So he's released the shackles and had a go, delivering a huge goal which meant so much to the Cardiff fans — who again honoured Sala in the best possible way.
Warnock admitted some of the younger players in his squad had been affected by the Sala news, and I can completely understand. I've been deeply affected by it.
What it gives everyone is a great sense of perspective. Footballing problems seem minuscule compared to life.
So hopefully Zohore can continue to go out there with a clear mind, clarity of thoughts, and prove that he can cut it in the Premier League.
Although if I was Warnock in this situation, I wouldn't yet be showering Zohore with plaudits.
Not after one moment. If we're going back to football talk, we have to be realistic and say Kenneth hasn't been at the races for more than six months now.
Even if he scores 10 goals between now and the end of the season, I wouldn't heap praise on him. That's his job.
And ultimately, Cardiff have done alright without the Dane this season. It's people like Bruno Manga , Neil Etheridge and Sol Bamba who have gone into the trenches for the shirt and deserve the personal accolades at the end of the campaign. Kenneth hasn't been with us.
My personal advice to him, as a former Bluebirds striker to a current one, would be to showcase his talents on the biggest stage between now and May. Everyone in the world watches the Premier League.
It's an almighty chance for him to start pulling up trees. He's got the capability: the power and the pace.
His torrid time, his barren run, whatever you want to call it — that's over. But it should be a learning curve and he needs to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Go and show everyone what you can do, Kenneth.
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