‘He is getting into good areas’ – Millwall boss on goal wait for former Arsenal, Wolves and Stoke frontman

Millwall manager Gary Rowett has had his say on Benik Afobe’s wait for a first goal of the 2022-23 season.

The 29-year-old topped the Lions’ scoring charts with 13 goals in the previous campaign.

But Afobe is yet to get off the mark in five outings, last hitting the back of the net in the 3-0 victory over Peterborough at The Den at the end of April.

Asked by the South London Press about the former Arsenal frontman’s dry spell, Rowett said: “Just like defenders are defined by how many goals they concede, essentially, strikers are defined by how many goals they score. You are never going to be in a scenario where strikers are not judged on how many goals they score.

“So you can play as well as you want but if you haven’t scored in five games then, of course, people are going to talk about it.,

“But he is getting into good areas, we need to provide him with a few more good chances and he needs to provide a few more chances himself. Essentially that is where we are.

“He’s a very good player. I’m sure when he scores he will go on, like he did last season, to score with a bit more freedom and take a little bit of pressure of himself in some ways. But we have got good forwards this year, so realistically everyone has to perform this season or there is someone ready to take their place. That’s the same with Benik and anybody. Players want that squad strength, but what it does is keep everyone on their toes because you can’t afford to not perform for a period of time.

“He was our top scorer last season as well, so there is a bit more expectation than there is on some of the other players.”

Mason Bennett will miss this weekend’s home game against Reading but Tom Bradshaw, Zian Flemming and Andreas Voglsammer have all been able to get a full week of training in to top up their fitness.

“We’ll get a little more work into the players who need it, the likes of Vogey and Zian, who everyone can see will give us a different look, a different skill set and threat up there,” said Rowett. “We’ve got to make sure when they do go in they are capable of performing for a large part of the game. We’ll continue to monitor that and continue to make good decisions when we think that is.

“I’m pleased to have them all out training and getting some extra minutes into the likes of Bradders and get them up to speed for the weekend.”