United’s winner against Bradford City on Saturday came courtesy of a header – literally the last touch of the game – from striker Richie Bennett.
Boss John Sheridan spoke this week about the confidence the centre forward will take from hitting the back of the net.
“I’m pleased for Richie that he scored the goal,” he commented. “I wouldn’t say he had his best game, but I know he’s going to be a handful. He’s just got to get to know what he’s good at.
“Once we get the way I want him to play into him he could be a real asset for us. I’ve seen him when he’s on his game and he can cause teams real problems. It’s always good for strikers to get on the score sheet and hopefully there’ll be more of that from him.”
And on a livewire performance from new arrival Jerry Yates, he commented: “He’ll be a favourite with the fans just because of the way he goes about his game and the way he plays.
“There’s plenty of endeavour and desire and he just wants to be involved. He works his socks off defensively for the team and he does the same going forward.
“I’m hoping goals will come for him as well. He was unfortunate with his shot which hit the post because that would have been a great goal. His all-round display was excellent and that’s what you want from players your team.
“He’s got a lot to offer, and I knew that when I started the work on signing him. He’ll be a nightmare for defenders because he won’t give them a minute’s rest. Everything is at a hundred miles an hour with him and I think that’s just how he is. Sometimes he does need to slow things down a bit, particularly when he’s in possession, but I’ll be well chuffed if he plays like that every game.”
“Paul Warne [Rotherham manager] told me really good things about him and I’ve seen him play in exactly that way before,” he continued. “He’s just a pest. He picked up a little knock on his foot but hopefully he’ll be ok.”
And defender Gary Liddle was another who came in for positive feedback following what was a very vocal and measured display.
“Gary is another who always gives 100% in training and he’s a player who younger players can learn from,” the manager said. “Some of them might come in and think they can train at 70% but they aren’t good enough players to do that.
“You need to be at 95-100% all of the time, and he’s a player who has played over 500 games and still comes in and does that every day. It’s great to see.”
But with the captain’s armband still, as yet, unallocated, we wondered if the boss was any nearer to making that decision.
“I’ll make a decision on who will be team captain this week,” he told us. “Danny [Grainger] has been an excellent captain here, but hopefully whatever decision I make will be the right one.”
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