Sydney FC boss Ufuk Talay has vowed to keep backing Fabio Gomes as the Brazilian forward continues to struggle for goals.
Gomes was signed on a loan deal from Atletico Mineiro by Talay's predecessor Steve Corica, and the 26-year-old striker had a dream debut, notching two goals in Sydney's Australia Cup final victory over Brisbane Roar.
But since then the towering forward has managed just one goal in eight A-League Men appearances, with Sydney kept scoreless in three of their past four games.
Talay has continued to tinker with his frontline, but says even if the goals aren't flowing, Gomes's hold-up is vital to the way he wants Sydney to attack.
"I think with Fabio, strikers want to score goals and that builds confidence," Talay said.
"He's in a bit of a dry spell at the moment, but what he's giving us off the ball is very important at this stage.
"As a coach you want your players to score, and we've been working with him on the training park and with the video, so he has a good understanding of his role.
"Hopefully this weekend he gets the opportunity to bag one and it keeps flowing from there."
Sydney face Western United at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, with both sides struggling at the wrong end of the table with just two wins apiece.
Talay has sought to redefine Sydney's play since assuming the role from Corica, and says he won't use the fact that he was brought in midway through the season as an excuse for the club's struggles.
"I've come here to win trophies, I've not come here to settle in through the season," Talay said.
"I've come in three games into the season where I believe we have a good squad with a mixture of senior players and young talented players."
Talay is expected to be boosted by the return of Max Burgess from injury and goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne from suspension.
However, he would not guarantee the latter would come straight back in for No. 2 Adam Pavlesic.
"We'll make that decision closer to the game - 'Pava' did nothing wrong in the last game," Talay said.
"I thought he had a good game, and that's what we want, we want competition for spots."
