Everton assistant manager Alan Irvine believes Andrew Johnson has the strength of character to overcome his goal drought.
Johnson is currently on a miserable run of 16 games for club and country without finding the net, stretching back to March 18.
Johnson tonight has another chance to end the barren run when he faces the Coca-Cola Championship’s bottom club Sheffield Wednesday in a Carling Cup third-round tie at Hillsborough.
The Owls finally ended a club-record six-match losing streak with a 1-0 win over Hull on Saturday, so with confidence again high are unlikely to be easy pickings for David Moyes’ side.
With Johnson’s own confidence likely to be low, Irvine insists the club will do all they can to help, but feels the 26-year-old has it within himself to start firing in the goals again.
“Everybody likes a bit of help, and we will be there to help and and support Andy because he has not become a bad player all of a sudden,” said Irvine.
“We can point to plenty of strikers who have gone through barren spells who have wondered where the next goal is coming from.
“You look at Sheffield Wednesday who struggled to win a game until recently and how it affected their performance, well it happens to players as well.
“Obviously Andy needs a goal, and however it goes in, I’m sure it will make him more relaxed, and hopefully it will be the first of many.
“But he is a strong enough character to get through it.”
It remains to be seen who will partner Johnson up front as Moyes benched Ayegbeni Yakubu for Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Moyes felt the club’s £11.25million club record signing had not been working hard enough recently since scoring on his debut at Bolton on September 1.
Yakubu trained on Monday with a number of other players who did not play at Villa Park, yet Irvine maintains the Nigerian has not let his head drop.
“He has responded really well to being left out, and that’s what you hope for from players,” added Irvine.
“We are a hard-working team, and we need all of our players to do a very committed and totally honest job when they are out there.
“We also ask them to do not only their own job, but to help other people out as well.
“I’m sure Yak will fend to that. He seems a great lad.”
Alan Stubbs is poised to return to the centre of defence providing Joseph Yobo does not recover from the illness that yesterday led to him missing training.
A doubt remains over Mikel Arteta who has now missed the last two games with an ankle injury, while goalkeeper Stefan Wessels is due to continue as Tim Howard’s replacement as the American recovers from a broken finger.
