DANI LOPEZ needs to impose himself further up the pitch, according to Graham Westley.

The Spanish striker has made two appearances this season, one coming from the bench, and has yet to find the net.

Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Orient was his first start of the year and Westley praised his involvement in the game, although he would prefer it to be in the final third.

“Lopez need to impose himself in higher areas,” the manager told the Comet.

“The number 10 role as he knows it in Spain isn’t particularly what we need; we need him higher up the pitch to impose his technical skill on defenders.

“He was very involved with the last game but only six of his 33 touches were in advanced positions and that’s not nearly enough.”

Lopez is part of a young crop of strikers at the Lamex, all of whom have focused on goalscoring, something Stevenage’s early season form has lacked.

“We have a lot of young strikers who are going to be very good players,” said Westley.

“There is a lot of talent here and they have to learn and understand what it takes to be a good goal scorer. Running the channels and holding the ball up is great but ultimately a striker is judged by goals so we’ve focused on that.”

Westley will hope to see the hard work pay off on Saturday when his side travel to Notts County.

In other team news, Sam Wedgbury and Luke Jones are expected to join the rest of the team in training today (Friday), although their availability for Saturday’s game is unclear.

Westley did reveal that both players’ progress back from injury was “positive.”