IAN Evatt reckons young midfielders at Wanderers should watch and take notes from Kieran Lee.
The former Sheffield Wednesday man has been in fine fettle so far this season, grabbing his first goal in Saturday’s win against Charlton.
And while he may be the elder statesman of the squad at 34, Lee’s technical understanding sets him out as an example to follow, says Evatt.
“For our young midfield players, is it great for them to learn from him, to watch the way he plays the game,” he said.
“We do have to coach him - he doesn’t just go out and wing it! But he gets it. His understanding of the game, his understanding of pressure, when to press, how to press, when to slide and block, passing lanes, is incredible.
“We have a joke in the coaches’ office that I’ve called him the drifter because he’s just constantly on the move, he’s always drifting off the back of people, drifting into the box and in space. He just does it so naturally.”
Wanderers go to Cheltenham on Saturday, followed quickly by another away day at MK Dons, and Evatt looks set to continue his rotation policy to keep his side as fresh as possible.
With Josh Sheehan back from injury, picking between the Wales international, the in-form Lee, Aaron Morley, MJ Williams, George Thomason and Kyle Dempsey in the central midfield spots is a tough task.
Evatt admits he has a big job on his hands ensuring all his players get enough game time.
“It’s really hard,” he said. “It isn’t just midfield, it’s everywhere. Will Aimson has been fantastic when he’s played, Kieran Sadlier’s been great when he’s played. We’ve got Kacha (Elias Kachunga) who has done well this season, Dapo (Afolayan) on the bench, Baka (Amadou Bakayoko), they’ve all had to take their turns and ride it out.
“Declan John, Josh Sheehan coming back, Eoin Toal nearly there, Izzy (Looyd Isgrove), the list goes on and on and on and that’s going to be my biggest challenge this season is trying to keep everybody onside and onboard.
“I just don’t think it’s possible to keep them all happy but what I’ve said to them is take your frustrations out on me and leave them in my office and at my door.
“With each other they need to be ultra supportive, be a good person and a good team mate and if they do that then we have a right chance. If they don’t then things can go wrong pretty quickly.”
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