I think its the usual occurance of peoples perception of players abilities improving when they are out of the team. Happens a lot in football & cricket.
He looked overweight for starters, and when he has played his tended to prance about and has been a passenger. I'm not adverse to him playing, but he needs to put in more of a shift.
He played against Port Vale away, played ok and hit the post. His not really shown the application or desire to be a regular this season, but with performances getting worse, it's probably worth giving him another try.