Fit-again Derik could return for Blackburn showdown

Wanderers could bring Derik Osede back into the squad to face Blackburn Rovers tomorrow night.

The Spanish defender has been out of commission since damaging his ankle in the Whites’ final pre-season friendly against Charlton Athletic.

Scans showed minor ligament damage for the former Real Madrid man following a heavy fall but after making a successful return to training, Derik is now in the mix to face Rovers at Ewood Park.

David Wheater is also close to a comeback and could come into contention for the testimonial game at Motherwell next weekend after returning to training.

Whether Neil Lennon chooses to change his back four tomorrow night seems unlikely, with the manager bestowing high praise on his defenders after Saturday’s draw with Nottingham Forest.

Lawrie Wilson, who returned at right-back for the last two games, agrees the rearguard has been settled since the start of the season.

“I’ve obviously played with Dorian before at Charlton, so we have that kind of connection – he’s the kind of player who’s great to have next to you in the back line,” he said.

“That has definitely helped me so far in terms of settling into the defence, but the other lads have been great too – Dean (Moxey) has played hundreds of games and is that solid defender, whereas the centre-halves are just brilliant at what they do.

“Ultimately, though, the more you play together the better you’ll be and we can only improve with the number of games we’ll have.”

Source

Lennon needs to quickly decide what his strongest back four is, find a way to cut out the niggly injuries so that they stay fit and then play them every week.

No more chopping and changing depending on whether or not we're at home, no more picking the team to try and counteract the opposition's perceived threat, just pick a back four that can defend properly and stick with it.

And please forget all this "having pacey wing-backs who can bomb on and whip crosses in" malarkey.

We've tried that and it doesn't work with the calibre of players that we can afford and it leaves us exposed at the back.

Get the defence solid and let the other six players concentrate on creating and scoring goals.

What's this testimonial game v Motherwell? Whose testimonial is it?

Ta Bread