Charlie Austin hit his third goal in two games when he cleverly back-heeled home against Chelsea.
But his boss reckons the ex-bricklayer can build on his transition to the Premier League and can take a step closer to an England cap with an adjustment here and there.
Austin gave the 3,000 Rs fans hope when he converted in the second half at Stamford Bridge only to see Blues awarded a 'harsh' penalty converted by Eden Hazard for the winner.
Even so, Harry Redknapp reckoned a work in progress was making big strides.
"Charlie is improving all the time,” the manager added. “He needs to work on a few things like his hold up play and other parts of his game but he has a strikers knack for scoring goals. Hopefully he will continue to do that for us.
"He's settled well in the Premier League, I was hoping he could score some goals for us because you never know but if he gets the service he is a goal scorer.”
The performance was heartening but it still leaves Rs rooted in the relegation zone. The manager sidestepped a survival total, but pointed to the positives of an unsung hero in Richard Dunne an outstanding performer in away white.
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"Dunney has been outstanding for me, working well with (Steven) Caulker.
"He is a great guy as well. He was out of the team early on but his attitude never changed, the same as Rio’s (Ferdinand) attitude has not changed, he too has been fantastic around the place.
“It’s difficult to know what you need to stay. Look at Newcastle. A couple of weeks ago everyone was getting pelted, but suddenly you win four games on the spin and now they are probably talking about getting into Europe.
“A couple of wins can turn it all around, we have a big game next week against Manchester City, hopefully we can give them a real tough game as well.”
