Mark Schwarzer claims 'the signs are positive' that new signing Pavel Pogrebnyak can fill the void left by Bobby Zamora at Fulham.
The 39-year-old Australian international goalkeeper, who has recently returned from a lengthy lay-off due to a spinal problem, was back between the sticks on Saturday as the Cottagers edged towards mid-table in the Premier League thanks to a 2-1 win against Stoke at Craven Cottage.
Schwarzer was particularly impressed with the performance of transfer deadline day signing, Pogrebnyak, who found the net on his debut to open the scoring in the game.
The Russian international, who was later forced out of the action due to a slight foot problem, was drafted in on transfer deadline day to replace QPR-bound, Zamora.
And Schwarzer claims the former Stuttgart man has already shown in training and on the pitch that he has the potential to fill Zamora's boots and chip in with some vital goals between now and the end of the season.
"Time will tell," he told the Daily Star. "Pavel has had one game and the signs are positive. In training he has been very good but it will take someone special to replace Bobby in the long term.
"It's always difficult when you lose big players and Zamora scored a lot of goals and his link-up play was invaluable."
He added: "Pavel has all the attributes to do that. We're confident he can get better and better. He looks very good and has fitted in easily.
"His work-rate was excellent and, although you probably didn't see his ability on the ball, his finish was top class."