Everton FC, Nikica Jelavic
NIKICA Jelavic admits his scintillating form since signing for Everton FC has heaped expectation on his shoulders ahead of Euro 2012.
The 26-year-old Croatian international striker scored a remarkable 11 goals in 15 Premier League appearances since joining from Glasgow Rangers in January, and is one of just four strikers in Slaven Bilic’s squad for Poland and Ukraine.
But Jelavic insists he will not let the pressure bother him, as he has already absorbed David Moyes’ doctrine of putting the team before personal pride.
He said: “Behind me are a couple of excellent months at club level and I am aware that people expect a lot of me, but that is a challenge.
“We’ll travel to Poland as a team, not as individuals, and I wouldn’t mind a bit if I score only a goal or two, and Croatia becomes the European champions. We want to make Croatia proud.
“We have four very good strikers in the team and there are no tensions between us.”
Such is former Blues player Bilic’s belief in Jelavic and his fellow forwards; Ivica Olic, Eduardo, and Mario Mandzukic, that he opted to leave Bolton’s Ivan Klasnic and Hamburg’s Mladen Petric, who have each scored 12 international goals, at home.
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