Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Chris Iwelumo promises to repay fans' faith

Nov 21 2008

CHRIS Iwelumo has vowed to reward George Burley and the Scotland fans for keeping faith in him following his costly miss against Norway.

The Wolves striker started his first game for Scotland in last night's 1-0 defeat to Argentina despite a glaring miss on his debut in last month's World Cup qualifier.

The 30-year-old had been boosted by words of encouragement from manager Burley and supporters in the days and weeks after the goalless draw against Norway.

And he was further lifted by his starting role against the South Americans and a positive reception from the Hampden crowd.

The well-travelled striker was taken off at half-time with a hamstring problem but his aim now is to start scoring for his country.

"He (Burley) has got faith in me and I will repay that in whatever way I can," Iwelumo said.

"He put a lot of confidence in me after the Norway game. He thought all the other parts of my game were exceptional that day.

"Obviously, the chance is massive and everyone will remember that, but that's part and parcel of football.

"I came off the phone to him and I felt good.

"You always have that little doubt in your head though, so it's fantastic to start and I want many more.

"Scotland haven't seen the best of me, so hopefully if I get into future squads I can get that little bit of luck.

"I think as soon as you get that first goal, you just kick on from there."

As well as receiving morale-boosting phone calls from Burley and many other managers, Iwelumo received good wishes from members of the Tartan Army.

"There were e-mails getting sent to Wolves every day from Scottish fans," he said.

"I thank all the fans, because it was fantastic to read them. It just shows there are a lot of good people out there."

The former St Mirren player added: "I thought the reception was great.

"Even after the miss during the match, they were cheering everything I was doing. That's fantastic, you take a lot of plusses from that."

Iwelumo feels he has overcome a hurdle in his rehabilitation from that miss and he is sure the experience can only make him stronger.

"It does come into my head every now and again, but you