David Martindale joked that Cristian Montano's game has improved so much since last season that it must have been his twin brother who arrived back from the summer break.
The Colombian full-back has been transformed this term with a string of fine performances at left-back. And his strike in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Hearts was the second time this campaign that he's grabbed the only goal of the game.
The ex-Port Vale and Bristol Rovers wide player struggled with fitness and injuries during his first campaign in Scotland which saw him limited to just seven starts in the league.
Now the Lions gaffer believes he's finally getting the kind of displays he was expecting.
He said: "I think that’s Cristian’s twin brother. I'm not surprised but I expected that level from him last year. When he came up I wasn’t sure he was a left-back but thought he looked good as a winger. I spoke to him and he said he would rather play higher up the park.
"But that probably explains why every manager he's had has put him at left-back. It took him 12 months to adjust to the style of football, the intensity and the training loads.
"In England they don't really do any gym work because of the schedule and even in a coaching sense you don't get a lot of time but we do lots, both on the park and visual stuff. We put a lot of detail into it and give them a lot of information.
"I think he has really kicked on this year but that’s the player I expected six to 12 weeks into the season last year.
“It’s just unfortunate I had to pay his wages for 12 months but I think he's definitely been one of the best players this season. I'm honestly delighted with him."
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