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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Danny Bloomer

Mick McCarthy fires work rate demand to Nottingham Forest player

Blackpool manager Mick McCarthy believes Josh Bowler is able to do the 'little bits other can't' but warned he must work 'as hard as everybody else' to get in his side.

Bowler returned to his former side on loan for the rest of the season from Nottingham Forest after a loan spell at Olympiacos failed to work out. The 23-year-old has made three league appearances since his move back to the Tangerines, but struggled to make an impact and so was dropped to the bench for the midweek match with Huddersfield Town.

He was joined by a number of the club's other flair players, with Ian Poveda and Morgan Rogers also handed watching briefs. However, with Blackpool both a goal and man down, Bowler was introduced with 20 minutes to play and showed how important he could be in the run-in with a 90th minute equaliser.

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Speaking to Blackpool Gazette, though, manager McCarthy insisted that Bowler and the rest of his attackers must buy into the structure of his team before they can 'sprinkle that magic dust' at the top end of the pitch.

“What does ‘maverick’ suggest? I’d like to think players are part of a team, part of a shape, part of a structure that you have and they work just as hard as everybody else.

“The really good players sprinkle that magic dust when it comes around, but they’ve already done all the other stuff. Maverick suggests you let them run free and let them do what they want, but you don’t. That doesn’t happen.

“It certainly doesn’t happen when you’re second bottom in the league, because you’ve got to have a structure and a shape and a system you play in and then it’s brilliant when you’ve got good players who do the bits he can.

“Josh has the physical capabilities to do it and he’s showing that. The little bits he can do that others can’t, that’s what we’re relying on.”

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