Peterborough United boss backs 'short of confidence' striker and predicts a bright future for his 16 year-old debutant
Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson has thrown his full support behind struggling striker Gustav Lindgren.
The Swedish forward, a £500k signing in January, is still awaiting his first Football League goal for the club and wasted a glorious opportunity in the first half by blazing over from close range.
The 23-year-old made just his sixth league start since becoming eligible to play for the clu b in the 1-1 draw against Bolton Wanderers at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday after being given the final three games of the season to prove himself and gain confidence ahead of next season.
The Posh boss admitted LIndgren is lacking confidence, but he remained firm in his belief that he will come good.
Ferguson said: “The chance he missed was a reaction finish as it came back to him quickly. Gustav is finding it tough because number nine, when coming into a team when you’ve not been playing, is probably the most difficult position. If you look at him, a lot of people would not be sure, but we are as a club, once he has had a good pre-season.
"He will play the next two games. For a striker, you have to have confidence and at the moment, he is a bit short.”
Lindgren lasted 61 minutes before being replaced by Ricky-Jade Jones for his final appearance for the club in front of his home fans.
Lindgren was joined in the squad by 16-year-old academy hotshot Bolu Shofowoke, who made his professional debut in stoppage time. The youngster was named in the squad ahead of Bradley Ihionvien who has now been told he has no future at the club.
Ferguson said: “Bolu is a young kid we like. He has been scoring a lot of goals in the 18s. There have been a lot of injuries to David Kamara and people like that, so there was an opportunity to get Bolu on the bench. With five minutes to go, I felt why not get him on. He’s a lovely young boy with a nice family and he’s got a bright future.
“He’s another young one we’ve produced, but obviously, he’s just a baby. We are not going to get carried away, but it was nice for him to get on the pitch.”
Ferguson felt his side could have won the match, but conceded they could also have lost it. He added: “We started really brightly and looked good value for the lead, but Will Blackmore did need to make two good saves. It’s a game we could won, but also one we could have lost.
“There was some good stuff, the two central midfielders (Ryan De Havilland and Donay O’Brien-Brady) were really good and Will did well in goal.
“There are two big moments in the second half. Malik’s penalty is a poor one and then there was his miss. If you score those you probably go and win it.
“The goal we conceded is too soft. How can he get a free hit from four of five yards? We have improved at set-pieces. but we need to improve further, it’s a poor goal to lose.”
Posh face Mansfield away in their penultimate game of the season on Wednesday night before finishing the season at Rotherham United.