I can ﬁre us into playoffs, says Furman - The Jewish Chronicle

Dean Furman has set his sights on finishing the season with a flourish after enduring a frustrating spell on the sidelines. The Oldham star returned to action during last weekend's defeat by Leyton Orient following a three-week absence with suspension and illness. Furman has been a shining light during a difficult time for the Latics with Paul Dickov's men having failed to win in their past nine outings and drop out of contention for the playoffs. And having already been nominated for the Mitre Goal of the Season Award for his sensational strike against Notts County, Furman is desperate to get his season back on track. "I'm enjoying it at the moment but it has been a frustrating last month because I've been off with illness and suspension," said the 22-year-old midfielder. "That was my first game back for a while but overall I'm having a good time and hopefully over the next few games we can pick up our form again, "It's a strong league with a lot of big teams. I'm from London so moving down from Rangers to Manchester wasn't a problem. "It's just disappointing because we were in such a good position a few games ago and we've fallen off the pace." Furman, who started out at Radlett Rangers, has enjoyed spells at Chelsea, Rangers and Bradford City in a promising start to his career. But the former Rosh Pinah student says he would love more Jewish players to make the step up to the Football League and help boost the community's profile within the game. "It's a disappointing fact that there are not more Jewish players involved," he said. "It starts at a young age and I think it's about getting the kids out there and enjoying their football. "It doesn't matter at which level. There must be good players out there who are ready to make the step up. "There are a few young boys coming into good clubs but it's important that parents push their boys and encourage them to get involved in football when they're young. "I played for Radlett Rangers, a Jewish-based team in a non-Jewish league and that was very beneficial. "I don't think scouts will come to Maccabi League games so that was great. I was playing with my friends in a competitive league and it was great." Dekel Keinan scored his first goal for Cardiff City in the 2-2 draw against Barnsley in the Championship. The Israel defender, who recently joined from Blackpool, put Cardiff 2-1 up with an 83rd minute header.