Home
The captain’s armband is up for grabs again in the short-term at Wanderers – leaving Neil Lennon to weigh up who will get the duty in Darren Pratley’s absence.
Mark Davies assumed responsibility in Tuesday night’s defeat against Burton Albion, a role that his manager believes could help him mature as a player.
Former skipper Jay Spearing also returns to the squad at the Riverside today, while Dorian Dervite and Neil Danns have also been mentioned as possible candidates.
Newly-installed captain Pratley has avoided surgery on his ankle ligament damage but will be out of commission for at least the next four games.
That leaves Lennon with an early-season decision to make, but the manager is pleased to say he has a number of options available.
“There are a few players I could ask to do it,” he told The Bolton News. “Sometimes it’s good to be able to hand some players some extra responsibility and see how they handle it.
“There’s Jay, who has already had the role, Dorian Dervite is playing very well, or we could look at Dannsy.
“But the reason we gave it to Mark on Tuesday was to see how he coped, and I thought he was outstanding against Burton.”
Davies captained Wanderers for the first time in the Capital One Cup and while the midfielder does not necessarily fit into the stereotypical character for the role, Lennon believes the experience could be beneficial.
“Sometimes it is good to have the rascal in there,” he said. “We gave it to Scott Brown at Celtic. Let them mature and give them some responsibility.
“Mark is a bright spark, he is good around the dressing room and players seem to like him.
“Sometimes he has got a bit of devil in him which is good. You don’t want to take that away from him.”
On the other hand, a more familiar option is returning from suspension this afternoon in Spearing, the man who held the captaincy at the start of last season.
The former Liverpool ball-winner had a bittersweet game against Derby County last weekend, his excellent performance blotted by a late and unfortunate red card that forced him to sit out in midweek.
Spearing has returned revitalised since his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers and Lennon believes he is starting to return to the kind of form that prompted Wanderers to bring him in from Anfield in the first place.
“He lost form last year and wasn’t in the team,” Lennon explained. “But it wasn’t the end of the world.
“He went to Blackburn to get some games. That might have done him some good.
“He has come back and his attitude has been excellent. It always has been anyway. His performance against Derby was very good and he looked more like his old self.”
Spearing was picked ahead of Josh Vela in midfield against the Rams last weekend but the potentially greater attacking threat carried by Middlesbrough on their own turf could mean both are brought into the team this afternoon.
Lennon freely admits his midfield ranks are well-stocked and now wants to keep all this options firing as best he can.
“That is a challenge and for me to find that motivation for the players,” he said. “It should be in-built anyway. And I can’t say Jay lacked motivation.
“For me, he was suffering from a lack of form but he seems to have found it again.
“We plumped for him over Josh because we needed the experience against Derby. He looked like he relished it. I need him to maintain that level of form.”
Pratley attempted to play through the pain last week after hurting himself in a full-blooded challenge with Derby’s Craig Bryson, which also put his opponent out of commission.
Lennon expects him to be out until September but has backed the likes of Davies, Danns and Spearing to fill the gaps.
“I would be surprised if you see him before the international break,” he said of Pratley. “It is ligament damage. Not severe but bad enough to keep him out for a few weeks. It was a thunderous challenge and he played on.
“He came in at half-time against Derby and had his ankle strapped. He was okay to go on but after the game he was sore and tender. Overnight it flared up and there was some swelling. Thankfully, he doesn’t need surgery. While it is a blow, it’s not a major blow.”
Source
Mark Davies assumed responsibility in Tuesday night’s defeat against Burton Albion, a role that his manager believes could help him mature as a player.
Former skipper Jay Spearing also returns to the squad at the Riverside today, while Dorian Dervite and Neil Danns have also been mentioned as possible candidates.
Newly-installed captain Pratley has avoided surgery on his ankle ligament damage but will be out of commission for at least the next four games.
That leaves Lennon with an early-season decision to make, but the manager is pleased to say he has a number of options available.
“There are a few players I could ask to do it,” he told The Bolton News. “Sometimes it’s good to be able to hand some players some extra responsibility and see how they handle it.
“There’s Jay, who has already had the role, Dorian Dervite is playing very well, or we could look at Dannsy.
“But the reason we gave it to Mark on Tuesday was to see how he coped, and I thought he was outstanding against Burton.”
Davies captained Wanderers for the first time in the Capital One Cup and while the midfielder does not necessarily fit into the stereotypical character for the role, Lennon believes the experience could be beneficial.
“Sometimes it is good to have the rascal in there,” he said. “We gave it to Scott Brown at Celtic. Let them mature and give them some responsibility.
“Mark is a bright spark, he is good around the dressing room and players seem to like him.
“Sometimes he has got a bit of devil in him which is good. You don’t want to take that away from him.”
On the other hand, a more familiar option is returning from suspension this afternoon in Spearing, the man who held the captaincy at the start of last season.
The former Liverpool ball-winner had a bittersweet game against Derby County last weekend, his excellent performance blotted by a late and unfortunate red card that forced him to sit out in midweek.
Spearing has returned revitalised since his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers and Lennon believes he is starting to return to the kind of form that prompted Wanderers to bring him in from Anfield in the first place.
“He lost form last year and wasn’t in the team,” Lennon explained. “But it wasn’t the end of the world.
“He went to Blackburn to get some games. That might have done him some good.
“He has come back and his attitude has been excellent. It always has been anyway. His performance against Derby was very good and he looked more like his old self.”
Spearing was picked ahead of Josh Vela in midfield against the Rams last weekend but the potentially greater attacking threat carried by Middlesbrough on their own turf could mean both are brought into the team this afternoon.
Lennon freely admits his midfield ranks are well-stocked and now wants to keep all this options firing as best he can.
“That is a challenge and for me to find that motivation for the players,” he said. “It should be in-built anyway. And I can’t say Jay lacked motivation.
“For me, he was suffering from a lack of form but he seems to have found it again.
“We plumped for him over Josh because we needed the experience against Derby. He looked like he relished it. I need him to maintain that level of form.”
Pratley attempted to play through the pain last week after hurting himself in a full-blooded challenge with Derby’s Craig Bryson, which also put his opponent out of commission.
Lennon expects him to be out until September but has backed the likes of Davies, Danns and Spearing to fill the gaps.
“I would be surprised if you see him before the international break,” he said of Pratley. “It is ligament damage. Not severe but bad enough to keep him out for a few weeks. It was a thunderous challenge and he played on.
“He came in at half-time against Derby and had his ankle strapped. He was okay to go on but after the game he was sore and tender. Overnight it flared up and there was some swelling. Thankfully, he doesn’t need surgery. While it is a blow, it’s not a major blow.”
Source