Mourinho has faith in Sheva
18 Mar 2007 - 04:59:26
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has backed Andriy Shevchenko to become more of a Premiership force in his second season, just like strike partner Didier Drogba.
The £30million Ukraine forward opened the scoring for the Blues in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge.
Shevchenko has been widely criticised for his lack of goals since arriving at the champions - having scored just four times in the league - but Mourinho believes the former AC Milan marksman will become more of a threat next season once he has found his feet in the Premiership.
Mourinho has cited the example of Drogba, who took 12 months to fully settle in England following his move from French side Marseille in 2004.
"Andriy's scoring goals, not an amazing number of goals but he's scoring," said Mourinho.
"He has got two goals in the Champions League, half a dozen in the Premiership and two or three more in the cups.
"It is a natural evolution of a striker coming from many years playing different football. I think he will be the same as Didier Drogba.
"Didier did better in his second season and he's doing better than last season. Andriy will do even better next season. He is improving.
"He is a happy boy and he is adapting to the demands of English football. The best is still to arrive and I think he thinks that as well.
"English football is completely different and I think it is very difficult for a player to adapt and it is even more difficult for a striker.
"He's scoring a good number of goals for his first season and he's playing much better in relation to the team idea."