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Phil Parkinson is wary of his former charge Josh Morris coming back to haunt him at the Macron tomorrow.
The Wanderers boss admits he will be making special provisions for the reborn 14-goal winger, who had struggled to win his approval at Bradford City last season.
Parkinson signed Morris from Fleetwood Town in the summer of 2015 but despite a goal on debut against Swindon, consigned him largely to the bench as the Bantams drove a path towards the play-offs and he failed to hit the target again.
After Parkinson left for Wanderers in June he recommended to Bradford’s new German ownership that they retain Morris’s services, despite him being one of the top earners in the squad and making just eight league starts.
But the decision – which was not deemed a controversial one at the time - was taken to release him for nothing, and the 25-year-old has since proved to be one of the best bargains of the transfer window, topping the scoring charts for the Iron and weighing in with nine assists so far.
“We signed him because he had a good scoring record at Fleetwood and he had a decent start to the season but then got a medial ligament injury and he couldn’t find his way back into my team,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “The simple fact is we’d got a settled line up, and one that got us into the play-offs, not because of anything particular that Josh was or wasn’t doing.
“We’d signed him because of his ability to score and create goals – and that’s something he has shown this season for Scunthorpe.
“I had recommended to the new owners at Bradford that he was a good player worth keeping on, despite the fact he hadn’t made much contribution in the last few months. He left before the new manager was appointed and their loss has been Scunthorpe’s gain. Timing was everything from their point of view.
“I would imagine Stuart McCall would have liked to have a look at him but sometimes finances dictate and the decision was already made by the time he got the job.”
Morris has gone off the boil since his electrifying start to the season, scoring just twice since October 8, but remains a player Parkinson will look to neutralise in tomorrow’s top of the table clash.
“I know his strengths, I know he gets shots away quickly and he’s not afraid at shooting from distance,” he said. “Of course, we’ll have to watch him closely but like any opposition, I look at their threats and see how we can nullify them. I’m sure Graham Alexander will be looking at our team, and our form at home, and thinking exactly the same.”
Wanderers are indeed in a purple streak at the Macron, winning their last nine home games in all competitions.
The last time they managed that was in 1995, when Bruce Rioch’s team was en route to Premier League promotion via the play-offs.
The Whites have not managed 10 in a row since the latter end of the 1992/93 campaign, Rioch’s first in charge at Burnden, which built into that memorable crescendo against Preston North End and another promotion.
The omens are good – but Scunthorpe’s threat is not being under-played by the Bolton boss, who has watched them steadily improve in recent years.
“I think if you look over the last calendar year there won’t be many teams in the Football League who have got a better record,” he said.
“They were very unlucky not to get into the play-offs last season and would have done so on the back of a very good run.
“They have continued with that this season, added some quality, and they can score goals from all over the pitch.
“As I always say, our first task is to match them for work-rate. If we fail to do that, they are capable of doing damage.”
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The Wanderers boss admits he will be making special provisions for the reborn 14-goal winger, who had struggled to win his approval at Bradford City last season.
Parkinson signed Morris from Fleetwood Town in the summer of 2015 but despite a goal on debut against Swindon, consigned him largely to the bench as the Bantams drove a path towards the play-offs and he failed to hit the target again.
After Parkinson left for Wanderers in June he recommended to Bradford’s new German ownership that they retain Morris’s services, despite him being one of the top earners in the squad and making just eight league starts.
But the decision – which was not deemed a controversial one at the time - was taken to release him for nothing, and the 25-year-old has since proved to be one of the best bargains of the transfer window, topping the scoring charts for the Iron and weighing in with nine assists so far.
“We signed him because he had a good scoring record at Fleetwood and he had a decent start to the season but then got a medial ligament injury and he couldn’t find his way back into my team,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “The simple fact is we’d got a settled line up, and one that got us into the play-offs, not because of anything particular that Josh was or wasn’t doing.
“We’d signed him because of his ability to score and create goals – and that’s something he has shown this season for Scunthorpe.
“I had recommended to the new owners at Bradford that he was a good player worth keeping on, despite the fact he hadn’t made much contribution in the last few months. He left before the new manager was appointed and their loss has been Scunthorpe’s gain. Timing was everything from their point of view.
“I would imagine Stuart McCall would have liked to have a look at him but sometimes finances dictate and the decision was already made by the time he got the job.”
Morris has gone off the boil since his electrifying start to the season, scoring just twice since October 8, but remains a player Parkinson will look to neutralise in tomorrow’s top of the table clash.
“I know his strengths, I know he gets shots away quickly and he’s not afraid at shooting from distance,” he said. “Of course, we’ll have to watch him closely but like any opposition, I look at their threats and see how we can nullify them. I’m sure Graham Alexander will be looking at our team, and our form at home, and thinking exactly the same.”
Wanderers are indeed in a purple streak at the Macron, winning their last nine home games in all competitions.
The last time they managed that was in 1995, when Bruce Rioch’s team was en route to Premier League promotion via the play-offs.
The Whites have not managed 10 in a row since the latter end of the 1992/93 campaign, Rioch’s first in charge at Burnden, which built into that memorable crescendo against Preston North End and another promotion.
The omens are good – but Scunthorpe’s threat is not being under-played by the Bolton boss, who has watched them steadily improve in recent years.
“I think if you look over the last calendar year there won’t be many teams in the Football League who have got a better record,” he said.
“They were very unlucky not to get into the play-offs last season and would have done so on the back of a very good run.
“They have continued with that this season, added some quality, and they can score goals from all over the pitch.
“As I always say, our first task is to match them for work-rate. If we fail to do that, they are capable of doing damage.”
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