QPR striker vows to end goal drought
Charlie Austin - Credit: PA Archive/Press Association Images
Charlie Austin is determined to end his QPR goal drought when Rangers host Birmingham City this weekend.
Summer signing Austin scored 28 goals in 40 appearances for Burnley last season and 45 in 90 games since moving to Turf Moor in January 2011.
However, after finding the net just two minutes into his QPR debut against Exeter City in the League Cup on August 6, he has drawn a blank in his last five matches.
The Hoops face two home games in the space of five days against Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion, and Austin is confident of finally getting off the mark in the league.
“The goals will come, I’m getting the chances, and the main thing is that we’re winning,” said Austin. “It’s just getting that first goal out of the way and hopefully the rest will follow. It doesn’t matter how they go in – they all count.
“As a centre-forward you just want to get that one over the line. I’ve hit the crossbar a couple of times, had a few chances, hopefully I’ll get one.
“You have to assess your all-round performances. I feel that I have been playing well and working hard. Obviously I would like to score a couple more goals, just like anyone would.
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“I went through a stage of scoring every time I went out on the pitch [at Burnley]. Hopefully that will happen for me after the international break.”
Austin is desperate to reach the Premier League, after a proposed move to Hull City fell through at the last minute earlier in the summer.
The two clubs had agreed a fee for the 24-year-old, but Austin failed a medical because of an old knee injury and was forced to return to Burnley before making the switch to QPR.
He added: “I had an operation on the knee when I was 15, but never had any trouble with it since at Swindon and Burnley.
“I knew I had to get back to Burnley, do pre-season and work hard. Everyone there has been brilliant for me.
“They welcomed me back and I got my head down and got on with it. Hopefully I will get to the Premier League one day – hopefully with QPR this season.”
