Bothroyd passed a fitness test to score his fifth goal of the season at Ipswich
Dave Jones has challenged Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd to become the "complete centre-forward."
Jones hopes the 26-year-old striker finally fulfils his huge potential at the Bluebirds, Bothroyd's eighth club.
The ex-England under-21 international scored his fifth of the season in Cardiff's 2-1 win at Ipswich Town.
And Jones said: "I think the penny has dropped for him now, he has spoken to me about getting his head right and working hard - that's the challenge."
Bothroyd was regarded as a hugely-promising wonderkid during his trainee days at Premier League giants Arsenal.
And Coventry City splashed out �1m on the 17-year-old in 2000.
But Bothroyd has always struggled to settle and perform to a consistently high level - and he even spent two years in Italy with Perugia.
Jay will pull faces at us and mumble under his breath but we've told him we won't go away. We're at him all of the time and that is what we have got to do
Cardiff City boss Dave Jones
Now finally the talented journeyman has seemed to have found a home at Championship high-fliers Cardiff, whose Bothroyd-inspired victory at Ipswich has moved them into fifth place in the table.
"Eight clubs is a lot to have had," admitted Jones.
"And at every other one he's started well and then drifted.
"Jay's quick, strong and has a great touch for a big fellow. If he could head the ball a bit better he could be the complete centre-forward.
"People talk about man-management and coaching but we've good people at Cardiff and the one thing Jay is finding is that we're not giving him a minute's rest.
"We're at him all of the time and that is what we have got to do. He'll pull faces at us and mumble under his breath but we've told him we won't go away.
"We'll be in his face...because, with the quality I've got at my disposal here, he knows it would be an easy option for me to leave him out.
"Now the players are trusting him and believing in him so he must continue. All I can do is give him a stage to perform on."
Cardiff, though, suffered a further blow to their injury-hit front-line as Michael Chopra hobbled out of their victory at Ipswich.
On-loan Sunderland striker Chopra was replaced in the 35th minute at Portman Road by American forward Eddie Johnson.
Chopra joins fellow hamstring-injury victim Ross McCormack, Cardiff's 14-goal top-scorer, on their injured list.
But Jones doesn't believe Chopra's knock is serious, insisting: "It is nothing more than tissue damage.
"He had gone to block a clearance and the lad has followed through and caught him on the shin."
Jones hopes Chopra will be fit for next Saturday's Championship home clash with Sheffield Wednesday.
McCormack suffered his second hamstring tear in five weeks in Cardiff's midweek draw at Burnley but the Scotland striker is expected to return to training this week.
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