Elvis Hammond is hungry for more come August...

"Elvis, Elvis give us a song..." is chanted as much by opposition fans as it is by Fulham followers whenever Elvis Hammond makes an appearance for the First Team. Almost as gifted with a football as his namesake was with a microphone, the young Ghanaian striker made quite an impression in the closing weeks of the season.

While he may still be seeking his first senior Fulham goal Hammond was the top scorer in this season's Premier Reserve League (South). Notching up 13 in all for the Whites - who finished as runners up in the League, just two points behind Watford - Elvis had been firmly knocking on the door of the First Team for some time.


However, despite a handful of substitute appearances, it wasn't until late in the season that Fulham fans got to see much of the 22-year-old. Last month, departing manager Jean Tigana gave Elvis his chance when he brought him on during the crunch games against Blackburn and Liverpool. While both were disappointing results the spritely forward looked quick and hungry for that first goal, causing the opposition a few headaches in the process.


Caretaker Manager Chris Coleman went one step further and, with Louis Saha sidelined through injury, Hammond got his first full start against Leeds and was once again part of the starting XI away at Stamford Bridge.


Speaking of his late run in the side Hammond said: "It was great towards the end, the injuries at the beginning of the season meant that is was a slow start for me. I stuck to it and I think that I'm now reaping the rewards. It's just a shame that the season wasn't like that from the beginning. This was the last year of my contract and I wasn't in contention for the First Team at the beginning of the season so I knew that I had to make in impact this time. I've done that right at the end, so I'm very happy."


Why did he leave it until so late in the season? Elvis believes that an injury he sustained towards the beginning of the season might have actually adversely helped his progress towards the end. "I was out for quite a long time with an injury and you tend to miss playing when you're out for a long time" he explains.

"During that recovery time I was able to think about what I wanted to do with myself. I would say that, from then onwards [once fit], I started scoring regularly in the Reserves. Maybe it was that I had got too comfortable with where I was in the squad. The injury was really a wake-up call. If I wasn't playing football, I don't know what I'd be doing so I think getting the injury gave me a bit of extra motivation."


Once the goals started coming in the Reserves it was then a case of getting "a foot in the door" - as he puts it - with the First Team. "You start off scoring in the Reserves and then you start joining in with the First Team in their training sessions" he says.


However, the jump from playing for the Reserves to playing for the First Team can be a big one and Elvis admits that, while it isn't easy, it is an experience he is working hard for and, importantly, enjoying. "It's difficult but it's a job that you've got to do. You have to try and do the best you can for the team and for yourself. You've just got to be mentally strong to start with and, if you can get one over on your defender in a game, then the confidence starts to flow. It's been difficult but I always try to do the best that I can no matter who I'm playing against."


The good news for both Fulham fans and Elvis alike is that he's been offered a new contract by the Club, and if the last few games of the season are anything to go by, he certainly features in the new manager's plans. Elvis has not left the building!