AS happy as he is to see Henrik Pedersen and Youri Djorkaeff hitting it off, Sam Allardyce is anxious to get Michael Ricketts back in the scoring groove.

The Ricketts of a year ago would boost Wanderers' survival prospects considerably but 10 months without a goal in open play has dented the Reebok Rocket's reputation as one of the most feared strikers in the Premiership.

But the manager is convinced it is only a matter of time before he starts finding the net again.

"It would be nice if Michael could recapture some of that form," Allardyce said with a strong sense of understatement. "It's been a long time but surely it's got to turn for him sooner or later."

While he waits for Ricketts, the Wanderers' boss is keeping his fingers crossed that Pedersen and Djorkaeff, who went into the weekend with seven goals between them, steer clear of injuries.

"The most important thing for us is to keep the Henrik Pedersen and Youri Djorkaeff partnership going as long as possible," he says. "That can get better and grow much further. Hopefully, we can keep it going for a long period of time. Touch wood, we hope they are not the sort of players that get niggling injuries like some other players do."

Dean Holdsworth did not sound like he was preparing to cut his Reebok ties just yet when he started his month's loan with Coventry today. "Things have been going okay recently," the Highfield Road-bound striker acknowledged. "I hope they carry on a do the business."