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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark McCadden

Chiedozie Ogbene pledges to improve shooting stats as he looks to be more prolific for club and country

Chiedozie Ogbene reckons he is still a little too shot-shy for his own good.

The Rotherham and Ireland ace has netted six goals in 18 club appearances so far this season.

Ogbene is big into studying his own performances and learning from previous displays - and the biggest lesson to date is that he needs to work on the selfish side of his game.

READ MORE: Quinn marks 100th Ireland cap with goal in comfortable win over Morocco

“It’s something I really want to improve on. I looked at my stats and I don’t take enough shots per game,” he said.

“Maybe it’s the style of play at Rotherham but I want to improve that.

“I’m sure you would prefer me scoring two every game, as a striker you want to score more goals or even get more assists.

“You want to contribute to the team and be a part of the build up play to be effective for the team. That’s what I’m working on.

“I watch my clips a lot. I try to improve my movement because as a striker if you are not shooting you’re asking a lot for the team to score goals in another way.

“That’s an area I want to improve on.”

Last season, Ogbene showed just how effective he was up-front at international level, while for his club he was often played as a wing-back.

But at Rotherham this term he has been handed a more advanced role in their return to the Championship.

Ogbene, who is hoping for a starting spot against Norway on Thursday, has stuck with the Millers despite plenty of talk over the summer that he would be on the move.

“I think I was always focused from day one. I was working with the club to ensure we found a middle ground,” he said.

“They made it clear that they wanted me to stay. That’s probably why I’ve started the season so well.

“They changed me from right wing-back to up top. There isn’t much information, just speculation in the transfer window, but I was always focused.”

He has overcome a hamstring injury to make the squad for this week’s Norway and Malta friendlies.

Vying with him for a place in the attacking-three are Michael Obafemi, Callum Robinson, Mark Sykes, Callum O’Dowda and Brighton youngster Evan Ferguson.

Ogbene has been impressed by the teenager in his first few training sessions with the senior squad.

“He’s doing really well. I never realised how big he was until you see him in person,” said the former Cork City and Limerick man.

“He’s a big lad and he’s eager. He’s very physical and works really hard so I’m hoping for great things from him.

“It’s credit to Evan; the ability he has at 18, I don’t think I even had it at 21. It’s credit to him and how hard he’s worked and his ability to be here.

“And do you know what I like about him? It’s the way he’s training.

“Obviously he is grateful for where he is but he’s taking his opportunity, he’s not shying off tackles and he’s getting stuck in.

“I think that is going to play a big part for his career.”

For Ferguson, Ogbene and the rest of Stephen Kenny’s squad, these two games represent the last chance to impress the manager up close before next March’s Euro qualification kick-off at home to France.

So despite them being end-of-year friendlies, with the Malta trip clashing with the World Cup kick-off, no one is taking them lightly.

“Obviously every game is a big game and this will be our final test before the Euro qualifiers for Germany, and I want to be involved,” said the 25-year-old.

“For us, we don’t see these friendlies as friendlies. We see these games as an opportunity to get our tactics right, especially when we go into the big tests come March.

“We want to win this game and we want to win it playing the football we want to play. That’s the main focus really.

“We are going to take these two games very seriously. I’m sure everybody is very focused for these games.

“I can see from training that everyone is fighting to be involved.”

Ogbene, meanwhile, defended his club boss Matt Taylor over recent comments made about the standard of the League of Ireland.

Taylor was addressing the club form of Ogbene’s teammate Georgie Kelly, who signed last January from Bohemians, when he said: “He’s come from Ireland which, with no disrespect to Irish football, is the equivalent of non-league level in the English pyramid.”

It led to plenty of commentary on this side of the Irish Sea, with the feeling being that Taylor was, in fact, being disrespectful.

However, Ogbene said: “I didn’t read into that. I spoke to Georgie Kelly and he gave me the brief.

“It was taken out of context. What he meant was not pushing Georgie too soon. You know how the media can be.

“Georgie didn’t take it to heart. He was trying to be as respectful as possible but I know how fans can be.”

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