Roberto Martinez believes that the best is yet to come from striker Jason Scotland

The Swansea City striker grabbed his 9th league goal of the campaign - and his 4th in 3 matches - at Blackpool on the weekend to knock on the head some of the calls for him to be replaced in the side.

It puts him in 8th place in the division's top scorers list after topping the League One charts last season and his league tally now reads 33 goals in just 62 Swansea starts.

And his manager believes that there is better to come from Scotland in the second half of the season.  That would mirror last season where Scotland scored 16 of his 24 league goals after Christmas which bodes well for Swansea fans as a statistic.

Speaking to the Evening Post, Martinez said "Jason will get better

"His international commitments have really put a handbrake on his form, but he has been getting stronger and stronger since he last came back from Trinidad & Tobago duty.

"He has had stability in his daily work and you can see now that he is enjoying his football.

"I thought he kept the ball magnificently at Blackpool.

"He linked up really well and he was always a threat.

"It's very pleasing to see Jason enjoying his football like that because when he does, he is a magician.

"Jason is going to be with us for a while and he will get stronger as a result

"We will see a different Jason Scotland in the second half of the season.

"We need to avoid Jason having these cameo roles and we will try to do what's best for him," Martinez went on.

"It's difficult for Jason. You want to play in the World Cup and it's a great opportunity for him.

"Jason doesn't want to let his country down and as a club we will try to help him, but we need to compromise.

"We are quite happy to take the risk and take some minutes out of his club performances when he is going to have a big role with Trinidad & Tobago.

"But if he is going to go there for a small role, we need to make sure he is able to carry on his success with us."

CHAMPIONSHIP TOP SCORERS 

Doyle - Reading 16

Ebanks-Blake - Wolves 14

Iwelumo - Wolves 13

McCormack - Cardiff 13

Smith - Watford 12

Beattie - Sheffield United 11

Phillips - Birmingham 11

Blackstock - QPR 9

Hunt - Reading 9

Paterson - Burnley 9

SCOTLAND - Swansea 9

Photo: Action Images

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