TAMIR Cohen has been called on by Gary Megson to prove he is the long-term answer to Wanderers’ midfield scoring problems.

The Israel international has netted twice in his last two games, yet remains far from the finished article according to the Wanderers boss, who made him his first signing at the Reebok in January 2008.

In just nine starts for the club the 25-year-old has scored an impressive four goals.

But Megson believes the former Maccabi Netanya midfielder needs to improve physically before he can claim a regular starting position for the Whites.

“He’s good in the air, has got a really good dig with his left foot and he’s got a knack of being in the right place for goalscoring,” the manager said.

“But he has also got to do more in games and I have spoken to him about it.

“It’s not a lack of effort because you saw what he put into the last two games but you also saw in the last 20 minutes that he was shattered.

“He was injured a lot last year but he has still got to get himself up to speed with the Premier League.

“He has got to put a little bit more into his training, a little bit more physical work in and that will give him a better chance at succeeding.”

Cohen, son of former Liverpool defender Avi, cost Wanderers just over £37,000 when he arrived from Israel at the start of last year but he struggled to make a sustained impact in the first team because of a succession of injuries.

His current stint in the side materialised because of Ricardo Gardner’s absence with a hamstring strain, yet his performances against Liverpool and Portsmouth have shown he has a flair for goalscoring.

Megson has searched long and hard for a midfielder capable of delivering in front of goal — a position that has effectively remained vacant since Kevin Nolan left the club in January.

And with Cohen now showing signs that he could pick up the mantle, the Wanderers boss has called for improvement in certain areas of his game.

“We know what we will get from him,” he said. “He chips in with goals and that’s a big plus for him. He’s just got to add a few things.

“It’s something we haven’t had for a long time. Even Nobby (Nolan), when he left, wasn’t scoring the goals he used to.

“Bibi (Gardner) went in there last season and got a few and Tamir has done the same. We need goals from all over the show but not at the expense of ‘tally-ho, let’s get goals’ and look as flimsy at times as we did on Saturday. It’s somewhere we have got to do a lot of work.”