Tony Mowbray has been heaping the praise on Patrick Roberts recently, who is expected to start tonight in place of the injured Ross Stewart. With that said, Mowbray did highlight the importance of adding goals and assists to his game.
SCARY TALENT
“I don’t think anybody can deny the talent that Patrick Roberts has. Just watching him in training over the past few days, it is scary how good he is – the ball sticks to his left foot. He is a wonderful talent but he has to produce, and he knows that.”
RIGHT MINDSET
“What I’ve found about him is that he is a good guy, he understands decision-making. My first question to him when I got here a couple of weeks ago was ‘Pat, what’s going on? Why are you not playing in this team?’ It’s almost comical really that Pat Roberts, with the talent he has got, isn’t in this team. He’s a nice kid, he’s not a sulky lad who feels he is entitled and he should be playing, he knows he has to earn the right in this team.”
STATISTICS
“I’ll start producing their data for them and use it as a motivational tool – how many shots, how many assists, how many goals, how many passes in the final third, how many passes into the box – and then compare it to the players who are the best in this league. And in the longer-term, how does Patrick Roberts compare to Kevin De Bruyne on forward passes or shots at goal?”
END PRODUCT NEEDED
“They need targets to aim for, I think. You can’t deny that Patrick is wonderful with the ball at his feet, but we need end product – shots and crosses and assists and goals. Having played and managed at Celtic, I saw Patrick when he was there and he was amazing there, when he was really confident and believed in his talent and people believed in him. We have to keep encouraging him, keep giving him opportunities, but he has to produce and he knows that.”
