Ngog is happy as lone ranger
5:10pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in Latest By Marc Iles
DAVID Ngog is aiming to take the fight to Chelsea on his own this weekend.
The Frenchman, who spearheaded the Wanderers attack in the FA Cup victory over Millwall, insists he is happy to put in the hard yards in the lone striker's role at Stamford Bridge.
Owen Coyle has praised the 22-year-old, signed from Liverpool for £4million, for his tireless work-rate in recent weeks.
And after netting his third goal of the season at The Den to book a quarter-final clash at Tottenham or Stevenage, Ngog is eager for more. “When you are on your own as a striker you have a job to do for the team,” he said. “I’m delighted to do that and I try to work hard.
“Whether the role suits me is not for me to decide. As soon as I’m on the pitch it suits me. I don’t question this.”
Coyle and his team are in for a daunting fortnight, with consecutive away days at Chelsea and Manchester City in store.
First up is west London and a quick reunion with former Wanderer Gary Cahill, who left the Reebok just 37 days ago in a £7million deal.
Although the England international has not necessarily been first choice, he has started three of the Blues’ last four games, against Manchester United in the Premier League and Birmingham City in the FA Cup and in last night’s Champions League clash at Napoli And Ngog hopes he gets the chance to pit his wits against his former team-mate again this weekend.
“Gary was a great player and I’m looking forward to playing against him,” he told The Bolton News. “We should both know each other’s game inside out.
“We have two tough games coming up but then that’s the case every week in the Premier League.
“We have to work hard, play as a team and see where it goes.”
Wanderers are still a point off safety in the Premiership and go into the game on the back of two consecutive defeats against Norwich and Wigan. But confidence has been boosted by the FA Cup, where the club now stand just one victory away from a semi-final at Wembley.
Nevertheless while Ngog was pleased with a professional performance against Millwall, he warned the Whites not to lose their focus in the league by dreaming about a return to the national stadium.
“I haven’t started thinking about Wembley yet,” he said. “We can’t. We have to take it game after game.
“Millwall was a tough place to play but I think we played well, we stayed strong and, hopefully, in this season it will be viewed as a good result.
“The FA Cup is a great competition and every player should want to win it. We enjoy it and try to do the best we can, just as we do in the Premier League.”
Meanwhile, Wanderers keeper Rob Lainton plans to be back in training in three weeks following a shoulder injury picked up in a practice match.
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