ROY O'Donovan is not a happy camper. And interim Jets coach Craig Deans would not expect anything else from the firebrand striker.
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In three games - all losses - O'Donovan is yet to hit the target.
It's the Irishman's slowest start to a season since he arrived in Australia six years ago.
"Roy has been around long enough to understand how the game works. In another season, he might have had four or five goals by now," Deans said ahead of the visit by Brisbane on Wednesday night. "The mentality of a goalscorer is that they are never happy unless they are scoring goals. That is a good thing. I don't want him walking around just happy to be playing football and picking up a pay cheque.
"I want him to be unhappy about not scoring goals and I want him to be working hard to be a goalscorer, which he is doing.
"He has more than enough ability and time to score 10 to 15 goals this season.
"If he does that, we will be in a good place."
Incredibly, in five previous seasons in the A-League, the former Premier League frontman has opened his account on the opening day four times.
He marked his debut for the Mariners in 2015 with a goal against Perth and began his second season on the Central Coast with a brace against the same opponent.
On touching down in Newcastle, he opened with a bang and a hat-trick against his former club, the Mariners.
He missed the opening eight games of the 2018-19 campaign on suspension before striking in his second game back.
Last season at the Roar, he again profited against Perth in round one, scoring a last-minute equaliser.
O'Donovan had six goals in the kit bag when he returned to the Jets during the transfer window and added another four to propel his A-League tally to 49.
However, the 10-goal-a-season striker has been stuck on that number since the second last round of the 2019-20 campaign.
Even the pre-season came and went without a goal.
O'Donovan has been a constant threat to defenders with his runs in behind and predator instincts.
He had a header flash past the right post and was twice denied by Macarthur keeper Adam Federici in the 2-1 defeat on Sunday.
In his three previous encounters against the Roar, O'Donovan has netted three goals.
"With Roy it's a matter of keeping his head in a good place," Deans said. "He enjoys the pressure of knowing he is the main man. The flip side of that is the opposition know he is the main man. It is not easy in his position. You are heavily marked ... Again it's a matter of him staying positive, being patient and working hard.
"Once he gets one, it will be a knock-on effect. Not for just him but for a few other people."
O'Donovan heads a new-look Jets front three alongside Valentino Yuel, with Ramy Najjarine playing in the No.10 role.
"When you put two or three attacking players together, they do take a bit of time to get to know each other," Deans said.
"Game-by-game, you can see a good partnership developing between Roy and Val. Ramy has been quite effective in every game. The missing part now is the goals and assists."
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