Kanoute Can

Freddie Kanoute was back on goalscoring form at the weekend - and says he CAN work up front with Paolo di Canio.

Freddie, whose twenty second second half goal finally ignited the game, says that he has been working hard to forge a creditable partnership with his equally maverick oppo.

While Harry looks to bring in a forward this summer, Freddie says:

"Maybe another striker is good, at the moment I know there is a little stuff to arrange with Paolo.

"We work to try to improve our understanding on the pitch, and I know sometimes we play more together.

"I think we understand each other more than at the beginning.

"Every time on the pitch and at half time we discuss things and I tell him what I liked him doing.

"So I think it is good, but maybe it is also good with another striker, I don't know."

In truth, Freddie played more as a lone forward at the weekend, and he says:

"I'm happy as it's been a long time without a goal.

"At half time I said to myself I have to score because today I feel good and we have to win.

"I wanted to score because the game needed that, and I was the only one up front, so they were relying on me.

"I did it so I was happy; I had many opportunities and I was free to go where I wanted, and I had good balls from the others.

"I was disappointed when they equalized but we succeeded in getting a draw so I'm quite happy.

"We were very motivated at Aston Villa and we didn't get the stress we had a few times at home.

"At Villa we felt more confident, and we wanted to win becuase it was beginning to get hard for us.

"Everbody joined in the battle, and I think we could have deserved a win but a draw is fine.

"I was motivated to do it; I wanted to do it.

"Last week it was very hard and we conceded a silly goal."

It was a completely different Freddie from the one who traipsed out of Upton Park a week earlier having been booked for diving to add insult to defeat.

Of that yellow card, he admits:

"I pushed the ball too far away; I admit that I fell, but I didn't want to do that.

"I understood when I was booked; it's normal but I didn't do it on purpose.

"I don't know how to dive and I never do."

Of the overall situation, he says:

"I've been disappointed because we know we have a good team and we have not been doing what we have to do.

"It's very sad when we play at home - we are running after the ball, but that's not normal; when at home we should be dictating the play.

"But we haven't been and I don't know where it comes from.

"But I know we did work hard to finish that bad period and it has paid off now.

"We have to play tactically together and understand each other, to work in training and it will be better.

"We have the talent, that is why we are disappointed, because we deserve better."

But he says he is benefitting from the experience, concluding:

"I'm learning every time, from winning, losing, drawing, and I understand we can't win every time even though we'd like to.

"But you can learn from everything."

* Whether Hayden Foxe learnt much from helping Australia beat Tonga 22-0 remains to be seen, however.

He may well have been better employed bedding himself further into domestic action that topping up his tan in the Oceania world cup group game...