EVAN CAS' TO FIND MOJO AGAIN

Former Celtic and Ireland striker Tony recalls his own self doubt after barren spell but wants Ferguson to hit refresh

- BY PAUL O'HEHIR

TONY CASCARINO believes Evan Ferguson is 'suffering' because his rise to prominence was so quick.

And the former Ireland striker is convinced the West Ham loanee is experiencing a crisis of confidence just like he did at Celtic under Liam Brady.

But what alarms Cascarino is that he was 27 when he first recalled seeds of doubt creeping into his own game, whereas Ferguson is only 20.

By the time 'Big Cas' joined Celtic in 1991 he had already played for Gillingham, Millwall and Aston Villa, and would go on to play for Chelsea, Marseille, Nancy and Red Star.

Ferguson is still finding his way in senior football, having made an impressive impact initially at Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi, following his move from Bohemians.

But new Seagulls boss Fabian Hürzeler loaned the Meath man to West Ham in January and, according to Cascarino, it has been "a disaster".

Ferguson has started once in six appearances for West Ham and hasn't scored a club goal since hitting the net for Brighton against Wolves back in October.

But he did score Ireland's equaliser in the 2-1 home win over Bulgaria last month.

Cascarino said: "I suffered my first real lack of belief and confidence when I was at Celtic. It was really bad, but I got to 27.

"He's 20, having real doubts about where he is. People know what his potential is but I think he's been affected by that rise so quickly.