Ki-Jana Hoever feels inspired to continue finding his way into the opposition’s box after scoring twice in two outings.
The right-back, on loan from Wolves, established a reputation for his offensive threat during his time at Stoke in the second part of last year, but despite scoring on the first day of this season, he did not score again until last Friday in a 2-0 win against Hull. He backed it up with a stunning equaliser against Huddersfield Town on Monday.
He is now ready for a difficult test against play-off hopes West Bromwich Albion, but his manager has told him to continue putting himself in danger.
Steven Schumacher remarked, “It was a fantastic goal against Huddersfield, a really beautiful finish with his weaker foot. Full-backs are extremely crucial in modern football because they must give goals or assists, and Ki-Jana has done both, finding himself in the opposition box, which is exactly what we want. We want to commit bodies forward and play offensive football, therefore full-backs must step up. I’m happy for him; he’s been playing well and deserves his goals.”
Hoever’s two goals came after he was reunited with Mehdi Leris, who has returned to the starting lineup on the right wing.
Schumacher stated, “I believe anyone who plays behind Mehdi will do well because of the effort rate he brings and the help he provides in situations. And whomever plays alongside or in front of Ki-Jana must work together as a team because it is a vital element of the pitch and how we want to play.
“He has good speed and quality. He simply needs to keep producing it. That’s his first two goals since the season’s opening day, so he went a long time without one and hopefully won’t go that long again.”
Hoever has also impressed off the pitch with his attitude in training.
“He’s fine; he’s quite quiet but a very nice kid,” Schumacher added. “He tries, wants to be better, learn, and progress. He has a laid-back mentality, and I believe he has a lot of potential; it’s just a matter of bringing both sides of his game together.Defensively, he’s good; I didn’t understand how quick he was until we played Leeds, and he outpaced (Crysencio) Summerville. Not many people do that.
“He’s quick, he’s got loads of good attributes so he just has to concentrate and be ready to perform in every single game and be consistent because if you want to play in the Premier League that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Such well-taken goals are important for Stoke, but they will also benefit in the next six games if they can find a way to score more goals of any kind.
Schumacher stated: “Keep placing individuals in positions. We got into some pretty excellent positions on Monday, and even in the first half, we got in down the sides but didn’t make the appropriate pass. We need to keep practising. We have the players, and we must believe in them, trusting that they will make those moments matter.
“We had some really nice moments in the second half when we needed to make the right pass but couldn’t quite do it. However, it will not happen overnight.
“It is continuous labour; do not abandon it. Don’t try to rip everything up and start over; instead, believe in what we’re doing, and we’ll be OK.
