Signing needs time

For those that have been watching our new Russian striker, Roman Pavlyuchenko from close quarters recently, you would have noticed a change in his all-round game.

Roman is looking more assured and comfortable on the ball. The fear-factor that surrounded him during his first batch of games is all but gone. The goal he scored against Burnley last night proves how far he's come.

After being put through by Bale, Pavlyuchenko showed his strength by powering past Burnley defender, Clarke Carlisle to slot home. Carlisle tried to get close to Roman, but our Russian simply brushed him aside.

I believe that given more time, Pavlyuchenko will become an even better striker. Many of us forget that Roman has been playing non-stop since the February 2008. The Russian Premier League starts in March, but with pre-season training at Spartak Moscow starting 6 weeks prior to the seasons' commencement, our Russian star has been playing continuously for nearly a year now, not to mention the added bonus of the European Football Championships.

With his family now with him in London, he definitely seems more settled. Given a long rest during the off-season, I trust that Roman will come back refreshed and ready for action.

We will also get to see how his partnership with Defoe comes into play in the coming weeks and months. Expect to see a lot more action from our two strikers.