9:08am Tuesday 7th September 2010
By Andy Cryer
BLACKBURN Rovers new boy Benjani is determined to repay Sam Allardyce’s faith in him as he bids to silence the doubters by repeating his former Premier League glories.
The Zimbabwe international made a £3.5million move to Manchester City in 2008 after an explosive end to his Portsmouth spell but, with his career having since stalled, is now desperate to grab his Premier League lifeline.
The 32-year-old has made just 26 appearances over the last two seasons, due to a combination of injury and falling foul to Manchester City’s spending spree, and was released by manager Roberto Mancini in June.
Benjani’s future has been shrouded in uncertainty ever since, with many questioning Sam Allardyce’s decision to give him his chance at Ewood Park at the close of the summer transfer window last month, and he is out to show his gratitude in goals.
He said: “You need to work hard and repay any team that gives you an opportunity. I am no different and I want to make sure Sam Allardyce doesn’t regret giving me my chance.
“I'm happy to be here and I will try and fight hard. It is not going to be easy to break into the team because there are some players who are playing really well at the moment. It's going to be hard for me.
“I am here at Blackburn because they approached me and they were the only club who wanted me. I wanted to stay in the Premier League so I came here. My plan B was to move away from here. I had a couple of clubs who were interested but not here in England.
“As a striker you always want to score goals as much as you can. I know I will have to fight hard to score goals here. Of course there are a lot of good players here, it is like that at any club, and all we can do is fight hard for a place and take your chance.”
After being signed for just more than £4m by Portsmouth from Auxerre in 2006, Benjani initially struggled to make an impact in England as he was made to wait 14 games for his first goal.
He went on though to become a consistent goal scorer for Pompey and 12 goals in his last 27 games for the club earned him a shot at the big time with Manchester City.
The striker himself is the first to admit the move soon turned sour but, as he looks to the future, he believes he can still rediscover the form that made him such a threat during his days on the south coast.
"I would love to get back to those days I enjoyed at Portsmouth and that's why I have been working on my fitness. As long as I'm not injured, I'd love to do that and I am confident I can,” he said.
“I am happy to be here and happy they gave me the contract. Of course I had to convince the manager because some people were saying things about me not being fit enough.
“I need to come here and prove myself and hopefully that is what I will do. As far as I am concerned I am fine, I think I am okay and that is why I am here.”
His Rovers debut could come as early as Saturday, at former club Manchester City, and he is out to make an instant impression.
He said: “It is always nice to play against your old team. I wish I will be fit and to play them would be interesting to me. If you go there they have a lot of quality in the team and top players so it will be difficult to go there and win.
“It is not just Manchester City, I would love to score against any team I play against. I do love playing in England, it is the best league in the world and I would love to end my career here.
“t is not a problem, that is why Blackburn are in the Premier League because they can compete with any team. We are fighting very hard to come back with the result.”
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