Years after his retirement, Alan Shearer remains a legendary figure in Newcastle.
Shearer an inspiration for Fulham’s Mitrovic
by post2post
Fulham striker Aleksander Mitrovic is hoping all his studying of Newcastle legend Alan Shearer can help him propel Fulham into the Premier League tonight.
The Serbian striker is on loan at Fulham from Newcastle, where the legendary Alan Shearer made his name. Mitrovic is hoping he can start on that path of legendary status with Fulham tonight at Wembley.
In truth, Mitrovic failed to fit in at Newcastle, he struggled for game time for the majority of his time there. When he did get on the pitch, he rapidly gained a reputation for being hot headed, which he could never shake off.
That hot hotheadedness has not been on show at Fulham, instead Mitrovic has shown his ability to score goals. Speaking to Sky Sports earlier in the week, the Serb explained what is working so well for him at Fulham.
“The way I play here (at Fulham) is the way I like to play… it’s perfect for me here and the gaffer (Slavisa Jokanovic) uses me in the best way he can.
“I always looked at how Alan Shearer and Didier Drogba played – it was almost magic that way they used their body to score goals.
“Even now I watch some of their goals on YouTube to try and learn from them. I needed the game time and to be on the pitch to score goals, I feel good and haven’t been in better shape in my career.”
He gave much of the credit to his manager and compatriot Slaviša Jokanović, quoting competitiveness as a shared national trait.
“The gaffer is tough, he never shows love, but he has helped me a lot and gave me my confidence back – he trusts my abilities and I need to feel that from my manager. He trusts the whole team and that’s the reason why we play good football.
“I just want to win and it doesn’t matter what it takes,I don’t like to lose and all Serbians are pretty much the same. I don’t even like to lose when I’m playing video games with my brother, when I do lose I get really mad.”
He has no issue facing up the past issues with his temperament with the media.
“I had some problems in the past when I made some stupid mistakes and got some stupid cards, but I learned a lot from this, and now I know how to calm myself down.
“Since I came to England I think I have settled and made my body a lot stronger, now I think I have learned how to use my strength in the right way.
“I have loved my time here and I don’t know what will happen after, right now I’m just focused on Saturday and then the World Cup.”
Serbia face Costa Rica, Switzerland and Brazil in Russia. His first focus though is Aston Villa.
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