Jay Rodriguez reaping rewards of being patient in second spell at Burnley

Jay Rodriguez re-signed for Burnley in the summer of 2019 from West Brom but has had to wait for regular opportunities with Sean Dyche preferring Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood as a striking duo.

But in recent weeks, Rodriguez’ patience has been rewarded on the pitch.

Chris Wood is currently out injured, meaning the former Southampton man has been handed a run of starts and was pivotal in helping his side return to winning ways against Crystal Palace last night, netting a goal in the first half before also laying on an assist for Mathew Lowton to seal the win.

The 31-year-old has featured 60 times since coming back to Turf Moor, although nearly half of these have come from the bench after signing for an initial £5 million from the Baggies.

There has always been a great player in there, particularly during his time at Southampton under Mauricio Pochettino and was destined to be in England’s World Cup Squad in 2014 before his season was cut-short after picking up a serious knee injury against Manchester City at the Etihad in April 2014.

He didn’t return to action for the South Coast club until August the following year but worked his way back to full fitness and offered the Saints a different threat, largely in their Europa League campaign which ended at the group stage.

But despite suffering the setback, he came back brilliantly and although it took a while to work his way back to his best, the Clarets are now reaping the rewards of his quality and his drive to succeed at his hometown club, where he came through the ranks making 128 appearances in his first spell.

This season, he has featured 22 times across all competitions and only has three goals to his name but the majority of these have come from the bench although his impact from the start in recent weeks has been clear for all to see.

Clarets’ boss Dyche was complimentary of the way his side performed particuarly in an attacking area when speaking in his post-match press conference after the 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

“Sometimes you have to fight and do everything you can to get a result and other times, like today, we find that mixed play that can be effective.

“There was a really good energy to the side, mixed with good quality. We got off to a great start and the energy in the side, the tempo in the play and commitment to the cause were important factors.

“When you throw in some quality as well, particuarly from the likes of J-Rod who I thought was outstanding all afternoon, it was overall a very good performance.”

As well as being pivotal in the win over Palace yesterday afternoon, the former England International scored a brace against Fulham in the fourth round of the FA Cup, which ultimately proved in vain, with the Turf Moor club falling at the hands of Bournemouth in the fifth round last week.

His end product has never been in question like he has shown in recent weeks but for any front man to succeed in a Dyche-led team, there needs to be a high level of work rate both on and off the ball and this is something that Rodriguez has in abundance, and seems the perfect player for the system which the club want to play.

He also offers a lot of experience to the side, much like Wood and Barnes both of who have enjoyed much more of the playing time since his return to the club but he knew that chances would come, he just needed to wait for the right moment to show his quality once again.

It is unknown how long Wood remains out for, but the form of Rodriguez will definitely give the Burnley’ boss a bit of a dilemma when the former Leeds striker does make his return to the squad.

 

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