Home
Max Clayton’s one big regret on returning to the Wanderers side is that he hasn’t been able to feature alongside Zach Clough.
Back in the fold after nine months on the sidelines with a knee injury, the 21-year-old gave Whites fans a glimpse of what they had been missing with a stellar performance against Brighton.
The former Crewe striker played for more than 80 minutes in Saturday’s 2-2 draw, barely missing a beat on his competitive comeback.
But while Clayton was delighted to be back in front of a crowd at the Macron again, he has one eye on the end of the year when Clough is expected to make his own return from injury.
“Last season we seemed to lose a lot of good players at the wrong times and this time I think losing Zach is a particular blow because I’ve never played with him,” he told The Bolton News.
“That’s a real kick in the teeth for me because he’s a great footballer and I look forward to him getting fit again.
“In the meantime I’ve been given a chance to come in and make a difference and I know I have got to perform for Bolton now.”
Watching Clough make a successful transition this year from development squad to first team regular convinced Clayton that he needed to make changes to his own game as he worked towards a green light to return.
And though it will be at least three months until he can line up alongside the Academy graduate in a Wanderers shirt, Clayton is hoping he will be able to fill the breach in his absence.
“Zach likes to come for the ball and I think as a number 10 you need to be able to mix it up a bit,” he said.
“I knew I had to return a different type of player. I was here in the gym a lot and I’ve really worked hard on it, my speed, my strength, I’m heavier and faster so hopefully I should be better than ever.
“I’ve had a good three weeks solid training now but to be fair the rehab with Mark (Leather) and Craig Short was so hard, it felt like I’d played a game every day. I was shattered because they were pushing me to the limit.”
Had Neil Lennon been successful in his search for a striker last week, he admits that Clayton may not have taken the field against Brighton.
“Probably not,” he said when asked if he would have gambled on the youngster’s fitness. “I might have had him on the bench and then brought him on with 15-20 minutes to go.
“But knowing we were light in attack and feeling that it was a game I felt we could take something from, I put him in there to see what he could do. Obviously, I’m delighted with the results. I thought there was more about us with him in the team.”
Lennon is also delighted by the physical condition in which Clayton has returned.
“He got through a lot of hard work and I think you can see that,” he said. “There were a lot of days on his own and with the medical staff and they can be really hard for any player but particularly for a young man like Max.
“You’re always careful not to expect too much from him or to push him too hard but we felt that we brought him in at the right time.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me that he played as well as he did because he has looked sharp behind the scenes.
“He’s a fine specimen of a footballer now.”
Lennon was also pleased with the performance of debutant Francesco Pisano, the Italian defender he picked up on a free transfer last month.
The former Cagliari full-back had played in a few friendly games before facing Brighton and replaced Lawrie Wilson on the right side of the defence.
Lennon described the 29-year-old’s first outing in English football as “encouraging” and believes there is more to come.
“I think he did very well and looked completely unflustered with it all,” he said. “Obviously he’ll need a bit of time to acclimatise but I think he can be very pleased with his debut because he didn’t do a lot wrong at all.”
Source
Back in the fold after nine months on the sidelines with a knee injury, the 21-year-old gave Whites fans a glimpse of what they had been missing with a stellar performance against Brighton.
The former Crewe striker played for more than 80 minutes in Saturday’s 2-2 draw, barely missing a beat on his competitive comeback.
But while Clayton was delighted to be back in front of a crowd at the Macron again, he has one eye on the end of the year when Clough is expected to make his own return from injury.
“Last season we seemed to lose a lot of good players at the wrong times and this time I think losing Zach is a particular blow because I’ve never played with him,” he told The Bolton News.
“That’s a real kick in the teeth for me because he’s a great footballer and I look forward to him getting fit again.
“In the meantime I’ve been given a chance to come in and make a difference and I know I have got to perform for Bolton now.”
Watching Clough make a successful transition this year from development squad to first team regular convinced Clayton that he needed to make changes to his own game as he worked towards a green light to return.
And though it will be at least three months until he can line up alongside the Academy graduate in a Wanderers shirt, Clayton is hoping he will be able to fill the breach in his absence.
“Zach likes to come for the ball and I think as a number 10 you need to be able to mix it up a bit,” he said.
“I knew I had to return a different type of player. I was here in the gym a lot and I’ve really worked hard on it, my speed, my strength, I’m heavier and faster so hopefully I should be better than ever.
“I’ve had a good three weeks solid training now but to be fair the rehab with Mark (Leather) and Craig Short was so hard, it felt like I’d played a game every day. I was shattered because they were pushing me to the limit.”
Had Neil Lennon been successful in his search for a striker last week, he admits that Clayton may not have taken the field against Brighton.
“Probably not,” he said when asked if he would have gambled on the youngster’s fitness. “I might have had him on the bench and then brought him on with 15-20 minutes to go.
“But knowing we were light in attack and feeling that it was a game I felt we could take something from, I put him in there to see what he could do. Obviously, I’m delighted with the results. I thought there was more about us with him in the team.”
Lennon is also delighted by the physical condition in which Clayton has returned.
“He got through a lot of hard work and I think you can see that,” he said. “There were a lot of days on his own and with the medical staff and they can be really hard for any player but particularly for a young man like Max.
“You’re always careful not to expect too much from him or to push him too hard but we felt that we brought him in at the right time.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me that he played as well as he did because he has looked sharp behind the scenes.
“He’s a fine specimen of a footballer now.”
Lennon was also pleased with the performance of debutant Francesco Pisano, the Italian defender he picked up on a free transfer last month.
The former Cagliari full-back had played in a few friendly games before facing Brighton and replaced Lawrie Wilson on the right side of the defence.
Lennon described the 29-year-old’s first outing in English football as “encouraging” and believes there is more to come.
“I think he did very well and looked completely unflustered with it all,” he said. “Obviously he’ll need a bit of time to acclimatise but I think he can be very pleased with his debut because he didn’t do a lot wrong at all.”
Source