ABERDEEN forward Peter Pawlett hopes his match-winning strike against Kilmarnock will convince manager Derek McInnes to give him some regular action.
The 26-year-old smashed home with five minutes remaining as the Pittodrie side fought back from a goal down to claim a 2-1 success in Ayrshire on Saturday.
But his appearance from the bench was just his 15th appearance of the season – only six of which were starts.
Pawlett has found his path to Aberdeen starting line-up blocked by the impressive form of Kenny McLean, Ryan Jack, Graeme Shinnie and on-loan Celtic playmaker Ryan Christie. But the forward is hopeful that he has now done enough to convince McInnes to trust him more often.
Pawlett said: “Scoring goals is the best feeling, especially when you are scoring last-minute winners. It was a goal I will enjoy for a while.
“You want to score as many goals as you can but my game time has not been as much as I would have wanted recently.
“Therefore I was just delighted to be on the pitch and scoring goals again. Long may it continue.”
Pawlett also scored during last week’s 7-2 romp over Motherwell and the 26-year-old believes he is now fulfilling his potential after being encouraged by McInnes to add goals to his game.
The former Scotland Under-21 international – who also struck against Kilmarnock in December – added: “I have scored in the past two games that I have come on so I am doing what I need to do.
“I need to be influencing games when I get a chance, whether it be from the start or when I come off the bench.
I have to take my chances. I need to keep working hard and keep having a positive attitude.”
Aberdeen now have a six-point lead over Rangers in the race for second place in the Ladbrokes Premiership table but Pawlett insists his side cannot become complacent.
“We are not worrying about what other teams are doing,” he said. “The good run and the importance of keeping it going is something the manager speaks to us about.
“Our form has been very good over the past two months. During that time we have shown a good togetherness.”
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