Zigic told to toughen up

Zigic told to toughen up

Published Nov. 25, 2010 7:15 a.m. ET

The former Valencia forward, who is slowly but surely adapting to life in England, is one of the Premier League's tallest players and is lethal in the air. However, McLeish does not believe he should rely in his height alone and that he could throw his weight around a little more. "He's become more aggressive but I think he could get more aggressive still," said McLeish. "Psychologically, it has been really tough for him. But now his stats are up and he works really hard for the team. "The players respect him and he's a proud guy, I think it's a Serbian trait. He has a great mental toughness." Meanwhile, McLeish has revealed it is proving a difficult task at St Andrew's keeping his squad players happy. His fringe players are chomping at the bit to play and Lee Bowyer proved his worth with the winner last weekend against Chelsea with Craig Gardner on the sidelines. McLeish also has the several other players knocking on his door, and while the boss cannot accomodate everyone, he does not mind having the problem. "It's difficult to keep everyone happy and guys like Lee Bowyer, Kevin Phillips, Matt Derbyshire and David Murphy want to play," continued McLeish. "Lee knocked on my door at the beginning when Gardner took his place. "It would be great in one way if the players didn't do that because you wouldn't get the hassle. But if you've got players who don't want to play, you're really struggling. "Lee wasn't delighted at being left out but he's knuckled down, trained hard and never put a foot wrong against Chelsea. "His goal was trademark Lee Bowyer, coming from the sort of runs he has been making all his career."

ADVERTISEMENT
share