Hartlepool United interim manager Nicky Featherstone backs out of sorts striker Danny Johnson to turn things around following barren start to Pools spell
Hartlepool United's interim manager Nicky Featherstone has backed out of sorts striker Danny Johnson to come good despite a difficult start to his Pools career.
The luckless frontman, who is without a goal in his first 19 Pools appearances, thought he'd ended his recent barren run in the 92nd minute of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Wealdstone, only to have his effort ruled out for offside.
That's been the story of Johnson's time at Victoria Park so far, with the 32-year-old failing to find the net all campaign despite scoring four times in a promising pre-season.
Having lost his place in the starting XI, Johnson is now struggling to make much of an impact from the bench and his fortunes have shown little signs of turning around in recent weeks.
Big things were expected of the experienced forward, who signed for Pools over the summer following a successful spell at League Two Walsall.
Having spent a year in the Pools academy, the Middlesbrough-born attacker has gone on to carve out a career as a proven goalscorer in the Football League, turning out for the likes of Leyton Orient and Mansfield, while he also impressed with Gateshead, finding the net 52 times in 111 matches, as well as Motherwell and Dundee.
Yet Johnson has failed to fire since signing for Pools having been brought in to replace the goals lost by the prolific Mani Dieseruvwe, who scored 43 times in 89 games at Victoria Park.
Renowned as a poacher and an instinctive finisher, Pools have struggled to get the best out of the veteran and Johnson never looked altogether comfortable with former manager Simon Grayson's pragmatic brand of football.
There are hopes, then, that interim boss Featherstone, who has been at the helm for more than a month and has worked hard to get more out of his attacking options, could still bring the best out of Johnson and the 37-year-old told the Red Radio he's confident the frontman will turn things around.
"I hope one goal will be the boost he needs," he said.
"It's usually the case with strikers, what he's got to do is put that frustration aside and forget about his goal record this season because his goal record over the course of his career speaks for itself.
"He will score, and hopefully that gives him the confidence to go on a run."