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PHIL Parkinson has told Erhun Oztumer not to get down in the dumps – despite making him a ‘fall guy’ against Ipswich Town.
The midfielder was hooked with 10 minutes of the first half remaining at Portman Road as the Wanderers boss looked to steady his defence following Marc Wilson’s straight red card.
Oztumer was making only his second Championship start for the club and watched the remainder of the game from the dugout as Wanderers held on for a handy point.
Parkinson is backing his playmaker to get plenty more game time, however, as he acclimatises to the demands of the division.
“It was difficult to take Oz off because he’s got quality,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “You could see that from the start – he was eyeing every throw, he can receive the ball in tight areas, and he gives the team a different dimension. In the end he was the fall guy because of the sending off.
“I feel he’s slowly but surely getting up to speed with the training and the demands of the Championship. He knows it himself because he’s feeling better all the time. Every day, every week he has more impact. He’s a real talent and I think our fans will enjoy watching him play.”
Parkinson had made four changes from the team which played at Middlesborough a few days earlier, including first league starts for centre-halves Wilson and Jack Hobbs.
That meant for the first time in his tenure, neither David Wheater nor Mark Beevers was in the starting line-up for a league game.
“Freshness in the Championship is important,” said Parkinson, explaining his changes. “I thought the two centre halves deserved their opportunity – they are good players, accomplished Championship players.
“I brought in the two wide men, Craig Noone and Will Buckley and they worked their socks off.
“We’d said in the build-up that when we get the stats back Noone and Buckley’s numbers are top Premiership never mind Championship. They ran themselves into the ground.”
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The midfielder was hooked with 10 minutes of the first half remaining at Portman Road as the Wanderers boss looked to steady his defence following Marc Wilson’s straight red card.
Oztumer was making only his second Championship start for the club and watched the remainder of the game from the dugout as Wanderers held on for a handy point.
Parkinson is backing his playmaker to get plenty more game time, however, as he acclimatises to the demands of the division.
“It was difficult to take Oz off because he’s got quality,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “You could see that from the start – he was eyeing every throw, he can receive the ball in tight areas, and he gives the team a different dimension. In the end he was the fall guy because of the sending off.
“I feel he’s slowly but surely getting up to speed with the training and the demands of the Championship. He knows it himself because he’s feeling better all the time. Every day, every week he has more impact. He’s a real talent and I think our fans will enjoy watching him play.”
Parkinson had made four changes from the team which played at Middlesborough a few days earlier, including first league starts for centre-halves Wilson and Jack Hobbs.
That meant for the first time in his tenure, neither David Wheater nor Mark Beevers was in the starting line-up for a league game.
“Freshness in the Championship is important,” said Parkinson, explaining his changes. “I thought the two centre halves deserved their opportunity – they are good players, accomplished Championship players.
“I brought in the two wide men, Craig Noone and Will Buckley and they worked their socks off.
“We’d said in the build-up that when we get the stats back Noone and Buckley’s numbers are top Premiership never mind Championship. They ran themselves into the ground.”
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