FINDING a partner for regular front man Chris Hay will be just one of the many problems facing Swindon Town's beleaguered boss Jimmy Quinn at Ewood tomorrow. But at least he still has the 25-year-old Hay available to him at a club where the financial crisis has seen the loss of most of their other assets.

Hay is top scorer for the Robins with five goals to his name so far this season and his performances have helped bring a little light relief to a drastic situation. Born in Glasgow, he actually played 25 games for Celtic - scoring four goals - before moving South to join Swindon where he has been a regular, if not quite prolific, goalscorer.

Last weekend, he teamed up with on-loan Mark McCammon, a young striker from Charlton, as Swindon went down 1-0 at home to Grimsby. But McCammon has now returned to the Valley.

Hay's Opta Index ratings do not compare unfavourably with Ewood's Ashley Ward and there is a feeling that, if he played for one of the First Division's quality sides, he could prove himself one of the better strikers at this level.

Opta's comparisons between Ward and Hay are startlingly similar in many respects, especially in front of goal.

But the fact that Ward has seen much more of the ball than his counterpart in a struggling team is underlined by the players' total passes. Ward's aggression is also summed up by the 70 fouls he has committed - only eight behind the First Division's most penalised player, Iwan Roberts. Ironically, both are strikers.

But the Ewood stalwart is also willing to help out in defence whenever needed, as 20 clearances, to just two by Hay, reveal.

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