Rickie Lambert still has the eye of the tiger according to Cardiff City manager Paul Trollope.
Former England striker Lambert scored his first goals for the club – and his first for 11 months – as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Rotherham on Saturday.
It was a result which lifted the Bluebirds out of the relegation places and Trollope believes was a rebuttal to those who have questioned the motivation of the club’s 34-year-old late deadline day signing.
“Rickie has a real hunger to play for the club and we are delighted he has got off the mark,” said Trollope.
“He is a real leader of men and we are really pleased with his contribution and his link up play.
“We have to get things correct around him to maximise his ability.
“I have a lot of pride in the players in how they came back from a difficult situation.
“The players showed great spirit, character and resilience.
“We worked hard in the week on the mental side of the game and we spoke about having the desire to win the game no matter what happened.
“The reaction to the second goal shows how hard the players are working. We are disappointed with the league position, but we have got quality to turn things around.”
The Bluebirds climbed out of the bottom three of the Championship after dramatically coming from behind to secure their first league away win of the campaign.
Rotherham had hit the front on the hour mark after Chelsea loan man Izzy Brown scored from Greg Halford’s long throw.
The Millers appeared to be cruising to three points following a dominant opening 70 minutes.
But Cardiff finally sprung into life when Lambert headed Peter Whittingham’s cross home on 74 minutes.
The comeback was complete five minutes later when Lambert’s shot deflected past Lee Camp.
A delighted Trollope said the experience of Lambert would be crucial to Cardiff climbing the table.
“Rickie Lambert has got the respect of the dressing because of what he has done in his career,” he added.
“The spirit of the group is good, I’ve got a good staff too. We’re very disappointed with the league position but the only way to get out is through being consistent and having that spirit from the group. I could see the desire through the week in training, but where it matters is on the pitch on Saturday.
“After a bad run you’re never going to just flick a switch and start playing at your free-flowing best, you have to do certain fundamental things to try and manufacture the result.”