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OPTIONS limited, bodies sapped of energy, Wanderers head to Sheffield Wednesday today with the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Saturday’s FA Cup melee in the mud at Eastleigh would have taken a physical toll at the best of times, let alone in such pressured circumstances as these.
With the spectre of administration looming large, two key men embroiled in transfer talks and another half-dozen linked with moves elsewhere, this trip to Hillsborough is the latest in a string of games have taken secondary importance to what is going on off the field.
But in amongst all the madness, Neil Lennon still has a football team to put out, and one that is preferably going to start winning football games.
The Whites boss did not know whether he would be able to call on Zach Clough or Mark Davies for tonight’s game – in fact he didn’t even know whether they would be at Euxton when he arrived following his media duties at the stadium yesterday.
So instead Lennon is going to have to start exploring other players in his squad with one eye on the rest of the season.
Kaiyne Woolery has made a case for himself with a couple of sprightly cameos from the bench, including one at Eastleigh at the weekend.
The speedy youngster, the last player signed for a cash fee when he arrived from Tamworth in August 2014 for £10,000, has been around the first-team ranks for most of the campaign.
And Lennon has been pleased with Woolery’s attitude since making the step up.
“Kaiyne is a bit raw still but he has fantastic pace and has been scoring a lot of goals for the under-21s so he deserved the step up and we are hoping to keep him around us,” he told The Bolton News.
“Pace is an asset we are not blessed with in great numbers. So we may look at him in an attacking position.
“He has come from a non-league background and is hungry to improve.”
Lennon had yet to assess just how much had been taken out of his squad yesterday morning but hinted at making a handful of changes against Wednesday.
The likes of Stephen Dobbie, Derik Osede and Tom Walker, who have been confined to the periphery of late, will come into play to fill gaps in the squad that have appeared for a whole host of reasons.
“I’d imagine we are going to have to look at our options but it’ll be an opportunity for some of the ones who have not been involved as much,” he said. “If players leave then places will be up for grabs, it stands to reason.
“Kaiyne has done very well, we’ve had Tom in the background for a while now; also we’ve got the likes of Dobbie and Derik who have been on the bench.
“It is a chance for them to come in and bed themselves down.”
Two players who have recently come back into contention are strikers Conor Wilkinson and Tom Eaves.
Both had become forgotten men in the Wanderers picture as Wilkinson was packed off to League One Barnsley and Eaves took time to recover from hip surgery.
With Emile Heskey unlikely to feature against Wednesday it will be up to former Owls man Gary Madine to lead the line, with Shola Ameobi likely to make the bench.
But Eaves and Wilkinson could come into the equation further down the line for Lennon as both made a successful return for the u21s recently.
“They will be in and around the first-team squad,” the manager said. “Eaves has been out for a substantial period of time with a hip injury.
“We will have to analyse them and see how they are doing.”
Lennon has had to manage his players carefully after Saturday’s ordeal in the cup and they will only be on light training duties before this evening’s game.
“It’s a two-day turnaround so it’s a big ask to go again,” he said. “We don’t have any fresh injuries but obviously I don’t know whether Mark Davies or Zach Clough will be involved.
“At the minute I have to go with the squad I had at the weekend. If talks break down and deals don’t go through we add those two to the squad.
“They will be fresh anyway because they didn’t play on a bog this Saturday or drive back for five or six hours.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/14197400.Wanderers_youngster_Kaiyne_is_more_than_able_to_step_up__says_Neil_Lennon/
Saturday’s FA Cup melee in the mud at Eastleigh would have taken a physical toll at the best of times, let alone in such pressured circumstances as these.
With the spectre of administration looming large, two key men embroiled in transfer talks and another half-dozen linked with moves elsewhere, this trip to Hillsborough is the latest in a string of games have taken secondary importance to what is going on off the field.
But in amongst all the madness, Neil Lennon still has a football team to put out, and one that is preferably going to start winning football games.
The Whites boss did not know whether he would be able to call on Zach Clough or Mark Davies for tonight’s game – in fact he didn’t even know whether they would be at Euxton when he arrived following his media duties at the stadium yesterday.
So instead Lennon is going to have to start exploring other players in his squad with one eye on the rest of the season.
Kaiyne Woolery has made a case for himself with a couple of sprightly cameos from the bench, including one at Eastleigh at the weekend.
The speedy youngster, the last player signed for a cash fee when he arrived from Tamworth in August 2014 for £10,000, has been around the first-team ranks for most of the campaign.
And Lennon has been pleased with Woolery’s attitude since making the step up.
“Kaiyne is a bit raw still but he has fantastic pace and has been scoring a lot of goals for the under-21s so he deserved the step up and we are hoping to keep him around us,” he told The Bolton News.
“Pace is an asset we are not blessed with in great numbers. So we may look at him in an attacking position.
“He has come from a non-league background and is hungry to improve.”
Lennon had yet to assess just how much had been taken out of his squad yesterday morning but hinted at making a handful of changes against Wednesday.
The likes of Stephen Dobbie, Derik Osede and Tom Walker, who have been confined to the periphery of late, will come into play to fill gaps in the squad that have appeared for a whole host of reasons.
“I’d imagine we are going to have to look at our options but it’ll be an opportunity for some of the ones who have not been involved as much,” he said. “If players leave then places will be up for grabs, it stands to reason.
“Kaiyne has done very well, we’ve had Tom in the background for a while now; also we’ve got the likes of Dobbie and Derik who have been on the bench.
“It is a chance for them to come in and bed themselves down.”
Two players who have recently come back into contention are strikers Conor Wilkinson and Tom Eaves.
Both had become forgotten men in the Wanderers picture as Wilkinson was packed off to League One Barnsley and Eaves took time to recover from hip surgery.
With Emile Heskey unlikely to feature against Wednesday it will be up to former Owls man Gary Madine to lead the line, with Shola Ameobi likely to make the bench.
But Eaves and Wilkinson could come into the equation further down the line for Lennon as both made a successful return for the u21s recently.
“They will be in and around the first-team squad,” the manager said. “Eaves has been out for a substantial period of time with a hip injury.
“We will have to analyse them and see how they are doing.”
Lennon has had to manage his players carefully after Saturday’s ordeal in the cup and they will only be on light training duties before this evening’s game.
“It’s a two-day turnaround so it’s a big ask to go again,” he said. “We don’t have any fresh injuries but obviously I don’t know whether Mark Davies or Zach Clough will be involved.
“At the minute I have to go with the squad I had at the weekend. If talks break down and deals don’t go through we add those two to the squad.
“They will be fresh anyway because they didn’t play on a bog this Saturday or drive back for five or six hours.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/14197400.Wanderers_youngster_Kaiyne_is_more_than_able_to_step_up__says_Neil_Lennon/
