Hodgson's hoping to give Bobby a boost after his poor run

But Hodgson has admitted his patience with goal-shy Zamora is not without limits and he would consider resting the £5million summer buy from West Ham if he displayed any sign of being affected by his poor form.

Hodgson said: "If the player's confidence is really down and he's allowing the situation to get on top of him, then there would be a case for doing that."

But the manager has also highlighted the contribution Zamora has made to Fulham's tally of 34 points, which is just short of club captain Danny Murphy's relegation-beating target of 40. While some fans are questioning whether just two goals in 26 League appearances represents a decent return on Fulham's investment in Zamora, Hodgson said: "We must not totally categorise front players on goals scored. They do other things to contribute to a team's success even if they're not the ones scoring.

"What I've been trying to make Bobby aware of is that he's actually played quite well in recent weeks. He's done some very good things for us and has led the line very well.

"Hopefully he won't be too upset by the fact that the couple of chances that have come his way he's not put away."

Hodgson says there will be no hangover from the 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat against Manchester United when he seeks to beat his former club Blackburn.

He added: "We did our sorrowing on Saturday evening and on Sunday. We grieved for a dream that had been taken from us.

"But it is important not to beat yourself up too much about it."