'Simms just needs to regain confidence'
- Published
Coventry City striker Ellis Simms will reproduce his goalscoring form from last season once he regains confidence, according to fan and podcaster Matt Cattell.
Simms has netted just twice in 24 Championship appearances so far this season at a rate of 0.08 goals per game, compared to 13 goals in 46 games last season - a rate of 0.28 per game.
"I thought he had a great game," Cattell told the BBC's Sky Blues Fancast, with reference to the 1-0 win over Bristol City.
"Obviously Frank [Lampard] has been working on him to get to hold the ball up, show his strength a bit.
"But he's a pure confidence player, Simms. Like he did last season, once he gets a goal or two, he'll go on to do it."
At the same stage of last season, Simms also had only two goals from 24 appearances, but went on to score 11 times in a 16-match run between December 2023 and April 2024.
Cattell believes Simms also needs time to adapt to the change in shape since Lampard took charge, playing up front alongside Brandon Thomas-Asante who arrived in the summer from West Bromwich Albion.
"With this formation, we're playing two up front which is a lot different. For years we've gone with that lone striker," he added.
"Those two [Simms and Thomas-Asante] need to gel as well. In the first half, I think Simms and Asante weren't quite clicking. But in the second half we started to see it and that will come with games."