MICHAEL CHOPRA is relishing his return to Newcastle on Friday night – but knows he’s in for a rough time.
The Cardiff City striker is looking to continue his goal-scoring form when his side travel to St James Park to play the Championship leaders.
But Chopra, who has scored 14 goals in the league this season, said he was expecting to get some stick from the home fans.
But the 26-year-old is prepared to run riot against the Magpies and strengthen Cardiff’s position in the play-off places.
“I can’t wait. This is one of the matches I’ve been looking forward to since the fixtures came out,” Chopra told Cardiff City’s official website.
“Thankfully for me, I’m starting to score goals at the right time.
“I have a lot of belief in my ability and when I went 13 or 14 games without a goal, it was affecting me a little bit but I knew I just had to keep going and keep creating chances.
“If you look at me in the last few games, I could have got a hat-trick on Saturday, but it wasn’t to be, although we still managed to get the win.
“I’m enjoying my football and back on a scoring run again. On Saturday, I scored the hardest chance of the three I got, and maybe it was a little lapse in concentration.
“The reception I got at Newcastle last season was bad. It was a local derby and I was playing for Sunderland. I knew when I went to Sunderland that I’d get a reception like that at Newcastle. Hopefully, Friday won’t be as bad, but I’ll still get stick.
“I watch Newcastle a lot. When the manager gives me time off and I go home, I’ll watch them play.
“Obviously I take an interest in the club because it’s where I was brought up, and another thing is that it’s a football game and I enjoy watching games. My mates are all Newcastle fans.
“But if I’m one on one with the keeper on Friday, I’ll be sticking it in the back of the net.”
Posted on February 4, 2010
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