Rowlands set for continuous scrutiny - December 21, 2000
Brentford midfielder Martin Rowlands is set to become a marked man. But the attention wont be coming from other teams: instead it will be his own fans who will have him under close scrutiny!
Brentford boss Ray Lewington has called on the Irish u21 international to forget about defensive duties in midfield and concentrate on causing problems for opposition rearguards.
Lewington wants Rowlands to get into the opposing box at least ten times in each game from now on - and he wants the clubs fans to keep count!
Martin scored his first goal of the season last weekend against Wrexham and Lewington wants more of the same from the player from now on.
Lewington said: "I want him scoring more goals because I know he is equipped to do it with his shot.
"I don't want him clogging everything up the middle of the park because that is not the area where he can cause the most damage."
The manager believes that Rowlands could still be looking at double figures for the season as long as he doesn't have to drop too deep to get the ball.
Lewington said: "When he does that the midfield gets congested so from now on we will have to make sure we get the ball up to him. His only job is to attack and probe from now."