Tounkara will click in the long run

OUMARE Tounkara needs to sharpen up where it counts in order to become a goal threat.

The bulky, hard-working striker has not found the net since dispatching a well-taken one-on-one effort against Brentford back in January.

Fatigue appears to have taken its toll on the on-loan Sunderland hitman — a player who is a man in physical stature but very much a rookie in terms of experience.

It could be that a period spent refreshing his batteries in the off-season may be just what the 20-year-old French forward needs to get back to his marauding best.

And with his two-season contract with the Premier League club running out at the end of this campaign, he may yet return to Boundary Park for another crack at npower League One next season with improved technique.

"Taking everything into consideration with Oumare, it is the first time he has ever played any sort of league football in his career," said Athletic assistant manager Gerry Taggart.

"He has a lot to learn, but he wants to learn. The fans have taken to him purely because of what he gives us.

"And you can't deny that he gives us everything he has got every Saturday.

"We need to polish off his edges a little bit inside the box and if we can do that, he will pop up with goals."

Tounkara's 18-match barren run is echoed by Athletic's as a whole.

The two goals registered in the win at Notts County which took the team on to 50 points were the first to arrive in five games, while another blank against 10-man Charlton showed that the corner has not yet been turned when it comes to converting opportunities.

"It has been a problem in the last few weeks and there is no point trying to skirt around the issue because the facts speak for themselves," Taggart added.

"It is something we are constantly working on and it also tells us a story about the players we have and where we need to strengthen.

"It is not for the lack of trying from the lads. You saw against Charlton that they again gave everything that they had.

"We created chances and we were just lacking that killer instinct you need in the box.

"You need someone to just stick a leg out to get on the end of things and unfortunately at the moment, we don't seem to have that."