LEE CLARK believes Jordan Rhodes will blossom into a striker for all seasons in the next couple of years.
Last term’s 23-goal top scorer is back at the top of the Town chart this time around, with Saturday’s strike at Walsall his 16th so far.
The 20-year-old came off the bench at the Banks’s Stadium, just as he has on eight other occasions this season.
And boss Clark, who snapped up the prize frontline asset from Ipswich during the 2009 close-season, explained: “Football matches are won over 90 minutes, not necessarily in the first 60 or 70.
“Working with the players each day, you see how they do things and how they respond to certain situations.
“You get to know there are some players who can make an impact as a substitute and some who can’t, and you weigh these things up when making your decisions.”
Rhodes, who has made 23 starts this term, netted in Town’s Carling Cup first-round win at Carlisle.
He has four goals in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy so far, having scored twice at both Rotherham and Tranmere.
And Clark continued: “He is a very talented young player who is still working on two or three areas of his game.
“I want him to develop into an all-round striker, not just a poacher.
“I want him to be able to play as a lone striker, to be physical and to be able to hold the ball up, if we decide to play that way in certain matches.
“The great thing about Jordan is his desire to learn.
“He’s like a sponge, he listens to everything said to him and takes it in.
“He’s desperate to be the best he can be, and the really good thing is that he loves scoring goals, a quality all good strikers need to have.
“He works very, very hard and he’s always willing to put himself into the right position in the opposition half.”
