Attacking midfielder Brennan Dickenson received a huge round of applause when he was substituted with just under 10 minutes left to play against Salford on Saturday but manager Chris Beech confirmed afterwards that all was fine, with the switch nothing more than a standard change of personnel.
“He’s fine, he’s a sprint athlete, he’s muscular, and he needs to build up that capacity to keep repeat sprinting,” he explained. “It’s eat, sleep, rest, repeat basically, but I joked with him when he played on Tuesday because he promised me a goal in August.
“He was laughing when he scored because we’re just into September, and it was part of a winning performance, so I’m really pleased for him.
“He’s got one of the best left foots outside the Championship. He’s gone through a period of his life where he’s struggled on and off the pitch due to personal circumstances with his father and timings of his injuries.
“With a bit of luck he’ll gain confidence from his goal. He promised one for August, but he’s waited until September, and hopefully he gets another one this month.”
On his overall performance, he told us: “I think Saturday is as well as he’s played for us. He’s reliable and consistent, and he’s becoming robust.
“We couldn’t get him on the pitch last year, so I’m pleased for him and he’s committed to the area. We’ve been working hard over the last couple of weeks on getting in the six-yard box because it causes all sorts of problems, as it did in this game.
“He’s versatile as well, and I actually discussed the possibility of him playing up front of a striker as well when I signed him. He’s got a hell of a rocket shot on him. You’ve seen that, but I want him to do more of it.
“I’ve seen Stuart Pearce shoot live and it’s unreal, Brennan has got one of the hardest shots I’ve ever coached. We need to utilise it more.”