Robin van Persie has been warned that his Feyenoord future will be decided on whether Raheem Sterling can return to top form.That is the opinion of European football expert Andy Brassell, who revealed there remains a lot of fan anger against the Dutchman.Sterling has played just four times for Feyenoord and now has his first assistGettyEngland international Sterling registered his first Feyenoord assist last weekend to ease the pressure on manager Van Persie.De club aan de Maas, already 16 points behind runaway Eredivisie leaders PSV, had been under threat of losing the league’s only other automatic Champions League qualification as well.However, Feyenoord came from behind at home ground De Kuip to seal a 2-1 win over Excelsior on Sunday to move a result clear of NEC.Ayase Ueda scored twice, his second being set up by Sterling, to put him level with Erling Haaland for 22 goals this season, one behind Kylian Mbappe – while Harry Kane remains out on his own on 30. On Sterling, Brassell told talkSPORT: “There’s actually been a deal of patience for him in the Dutch media, because they’re excited that he’s there. I think there’s a real will for him to succeed and do well.“Until last week, Ayase Ueda, who he set up the winner for against Excelsior, hadn’t scored since December. “And Ueda has been incredibly consistent this season. So after these two goals, Ueda has now got 22 Eredivisie goals for the season. 22 – That is a lot at this point in the season, when we’re barely halfway into March. “I think if Sterling starts to hit it, the goals are going to flow for Ueda, and that is a really good thing. “He scored two in their away game last week, and he scored two this week. But it’s remarkable that a guy who scored over 20 goals in the Eredivisie season has not scored, or had not scored, in going on three months.“And that’s a huge part of bringing Sterling in, trying to get a bit more pep in this front three that has gone a bit sideways.”Ueda is back in the goals to continue adding to the best individual season of his careerGettyEuropean Golden Boot raceHarry KaneGoals: 30Coefficient: 2Points: 60Kylian MbappeGoals: 23Coefficient: 2Points: 46Erling HaalandGoals: 22Coefficient: 2Points: 44Igor ThiagoGoals: 19Coefficient: 2Points: 38Vedat MuriqiGoals: 18Coefficient: 2Points: 36Luis SuarezGoals: 23Coefficient: 1.5Points: 34.5Ayase UedaGoals: 22Coefficient: 1.5Points: 33VAN PERSIE UNDER PRESSUREAlongside pressure from Feyenoord fans, Van Persie was also called out Quinten Timber, twin brother of Arsenal‘s Jurrien, weeks before he left the Dutch club for Marseille.And Brassell added that a lot of his imminent future could depend on whether Sterling refinds the form that made him a household name.“Feyenoord and Van Persie in particular have been under massive pressure from the media, from supporters, for a long, long time.“He’s quite an inexperienced coach to have to deal with this. Then you factor in the injury to his son as well, Shaquille, after he made such a great debut. But by that point, Van Persie senior was already under quite a lot of pressure. “So I think for Sterling to come in, and really so much of whether Sterling works or doesn’t will decide where Van Persie goes from here. “If Sterling has a really good last few months of the season, that will really help Van Persie build out from where he is now.Van Persie’s side had to come from a goal down to secure a much-needed victoryAFP“Because at the moment, there’s a lot of supporter anger against the board, and against Van Persie as well.“And you have commentators in Dutch media saying, look, if he were anyone else, if he weren’t a big name like he is, he probably would have been binned already. “And that might be right with some of the runs that they’ve had.”Feyenoord are next in action in De Klassieker against Ajax, who downed another Rotterdam team, Sparta, 4-0 in their first match under new boss Oscar Garcia.Brassell told talkSPORT: “You can’t really underline too much how huge this is. “For Sterling to go to Amsterdam and make a big impact in a game like this, that would be the next step for him.Sterling got his first assist for Feyenoord on SundayShutterstock EditorialSterling ‘working around various limitations’“But I think the pass for the winning goal, the winning goal against Excelsior, was a really good illustration of what he can do for them.“It’s not just him dribbling around a couple, and it shows that if he’s not got that burst of lightning pace that he used to have, if he’s not got it anymore, basically, in terms of the pace, we won’t know until he’s fitter. “But if he’s not quite as explosive as he used to be, he can still pick a pass over range. “This was a pass that split the defence when he was in his own half, playing it to Ueda, going on to a relatively high back line because it was a counter.“So I think it shows that Sterling is working around the fact that he’s got various limitations at the moment, and it bodes quite well. “And like I said, if he has a big game against Ajax, that will massively flip the script, both for him and for RVP.”