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Hodgson impressed by Zamora show

Sat 19 Jul, 07:15 PM


Fulham boss Roy Hodgson claimed Bobby Zamora is determined to prove himself after his new striker hit a stunner in their 3-1 win over Celtic.Zamora celebrated his Cottagers debut by opening his account with an unstoppable half-volley from the edge of the area.

The 27-year-old, who endured a torrid time last season, arrived from West Ham on Tuesday and Hodgson feels he has the potential to become a key signing.

"It was a wonderful goal created by a nice move. It's a good start for Bobby," he said.

"He had a difficult time last season and needs a new start. He needs to put last season totally behind him.

"We'll work on him becoming the player he was before last season. We're getting a man who is very motivated to show he is a top-class Premier League player.

"He did enough in his first 45 minutes today to suggest we'll get some good use out of him."

Zamora cost Fulham £6.3million, although the deal also included John Pantsil moving from Upton Park to Craven Cottage.

Andranik Teymourian, Zoltan Gera, David Stockdale and Mark Schwarzer have also joined during the transfer window but Hodgson revealed his summer spending spree is not over yet.

"There won't be many more signings but we haven't ruled out bringing in a couple more in key positions to help us out," he said.

"We've done quite a few things already and I'm very pleased with what we've done.

"We're looking at another striker and flirting with the idea of a defensive midfield player.

"We may also need some cover at centre-back because we're fairly light in that area. If we resolve those three situations we will have a strong squad."

Steve Davis is still stranded in limbo after Hodgson revealed Fulham are refusing to sell unless Rangers meet their asking price.

Davis spent the second half of last season on loan at Ibrox and Hodgson will not let the Northern Ireland midfielder go on the cheap.

"The last I heard Rangers reiterated their initial offer which was refused by the club," he said.

"Steve's loan turned out to be exceptionally good for Rangers and Steve himself.

"He enjoyed his time up there and was a regular starter. He fears it won't be easy to break into our midfield, which is fairly stable.

"But players have values. We paid a lot of money for him and think he's a very good player. I'm perfectly happy to work with him and keep him at Fulham.

"Of course if he's going to leave us it will have to be because we've received the correct offer. The lad is worth the sort of transfer money we're asking."

Celtic defeated Southampton 2-0 in another pre-season friendly last night and defender Mark Wilson admitted some of the team were fatigued.

"Fulham were a good test for us but at this stage we don't concern ourselves with results, it's more about fitness," he said.

"Some of the players found it tough playing twice in such a short space of time but it was a good exercise for us.

"Matches like this are a chance to show teams in England what Celtic are like - we don't get the chance to do that very often."

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