January 28 2004

Neil Shipperley

Having broken the longest barren spell of his career on Saturday, Palace captain Neil Shipperley wants to repay the faith of his manager and team-mates by getting ten this season, writes Joseph O'Shea.

Shipperley’s 15th minute strike against Bradford, not only won the game, it ended a run of 18 games and more than three months, since his last strike against Cardiff on October 4.

For a man who scored 24 goals last season for Wimbledon and has hit 121 goals in 390 senior starts, the goal-drought was particularly painful, especially having returned to his former club in the summer.

The relief was evident in his reaction to the goal, but also that of his team-mates who flocked to celebrate with him.

Shipperley said: "The law of averages I had to score sooner or later and thankfully it came on Saturday. It was a huge relief. It’s been a hell of a barren spell and it was nice to see my team-mates' reaction."

"It is just lovely to score and now bring on the next game. Hopefully you will see the difference, because it’s a massive relief. A striker does need to score goals, it’s as simple as that."

His manager Iain Dowie has been fiercely defensive of Shipperley in the last month, pointing to his captain’s team ethic, and he appreciated the support.

Shipperley said: "I always felt confident enough not to try and let it affect me because I contributed in other ways.

"Iain’s being very supportive and he’s not put me under any kind of pressure regarding goals. We had chats and he understood what it is like not to score for while. He has been good all round. His enthusiasm as a coach and a man is nice and fresh."

Now Shipperley is setting himself a new target for the end of the season.

He said: "It’s four away wins on the trot but now we need to do that at home. We are eight point off the play-offs, but going a game at a time.

"Personally in 17 games, if I could hit double figures it would rescue my season. But I am not making any promises, I said the same after Cardiff."

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