Auxerre have won their last four Ligue 1 games and are now unbeaten in seven matches in all in the championship. Remarkably, after scoring 14 in 26 Ligue 1 appearances in the 2008-2009 season, 29-year-old hotshot Jelen had failed to contribute a goal in his four appearances this campaign, prior to his two-goal salvo against LOSC.

Sorin: "He told us the goals would come"

AJA goalkeeper Olivier Sorin revealed that some dressing room joshing may have inspired the big Pole to rediscover his goalscoring touch. Sorin said: "On Saturday the lads were winding him up after he missed several easy chances and he told us that the goals would come tomorrow [in the Lille game] and he was right."

Auxerre were flirting with relegation last season when Jelen came back in January from surgery to fix a broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder which kept him sidelined for three months. He scored in a 2-0 win over Nancy in his second match upon his return and never looked back, adding 10 more in 14 Ligue 1 appearances to ensure the club's survival.

Injury nightmare

Injuries have been a depressingly regular feature of Jelen's time in France. A back operation in August looked set to sideline him for eight weeks, only for a remarkable recovery which allowed him to return to first-team action in mid-September for the 2-0 home win over Nice, a match in which Auxerre scored their first goals of the new season and embarked on their ongoing unbeaten streak.

"Mad" European dream

Just before his comeback Jelen, signed from Polish club Wisla Plock in 2006, said: "It's really nice to know that people are looking forward to my return and think that Jelen will change the face of the side. I feel the pressure. But I hope I'll act as a sort of shock therapy for the team. I have an obstinate character and I want to help this club back into Europe, even if some people will think I'm mad for making such a statement."

Although the team's results immediately improved, Jelen himself went through an awkward spell, not least when he was sent off 20 minutes into the Week 7 2-0 home win over Grenoble along with visiting defender David Jemmali, picking up a one-match ban.

Grenoble red

Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez was furious. "I didn't like Jelen's reaction. He didn't leave the referee with any choice. It's a problem because we lost a decisive striker, handicapping us for what is to follow." 

Fernandez's ire did not stop him from restoring Jelen to the starting line-up at the earliest available opportunity. With Danish playmaker Thomas Kahlenberg - the man who set up so many of Jelen's goals last term - joining German champions Wolfsburg in the summer, Fernandez's best piece of close season business was persuading Jelen his future lay in France. In May the Pole signed a new contract, tying him to the club in 2012, despite the interest of several European clubs.

"I feel very good here"

"I had other offers," admitted Jelen. "But I talked over my decision to stay with my family. I feel very good here, my wife as well. Other offers were perhaps financially more attractive. But my game is progressing and I feel good here."

Jelen's game progressed to such an extent that he earned a recall to the Polish national side in March from Leo Beenhakker, the Dutch coach whose selection decisions hitherto had been dismissed by Jelen as "bizarre". Beenhakker was sacked after Poland's failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, yet Jelen looks poised to be a key element under the new regime as Poland prepare to co-host Euro 2012 with Ukraine. Jelen was left out of the Poland squad for Euro 2008, although he did feature at World Cup 2006, playing in all three of his country's games in Germany.

Jelen: "French is a difficult language"

A naturally shy self-effacing character, Jelen is most at home on the pitch. He said: "Even if I spoke French, I wouldn't talk to the press much more often. French is a difficult language. And when I was injured my morale was low so I didn't have the desire to put in the effort required to learn it. Plus I'm surrounded by Poles who translate for me. The main thing is to be able to communicate on the field with my team-mates. My compatriot Dariusz Dudka [Auxerre's versatile Polish international defender or midfielder] helps me out when necessary."

Goals are the same in any language, and Auxerre fans hope that Jelen will go on to better last season's haul and become the club's top scorer for the third time in four seasons.

>> Jelen takes Auxerre to seventh heaven

>> Ireneusz Jelen player page

Ligue1.com - D. Crossan