REAL STEEL
Ireland under-21 boss Jim says iron man Evan will continue to show his mettle even in the face of horror tackles & rough treatment
EVAN FERGUSON has a ‘bulletproof’ mentality to become one of Ireland’s most feared strikers.
That is the view of Ireland under-21 boss, Jim Crawford, who may well never get to work with the Brighton whiz-kid again, even though Fergie still has three years remaining at under-21 level.
Ferguson, 18, has scored three goals from just two Premier League starts, netting against Arsenal on New Year’s Eve, then Everton and Leicester, as well as getting an assist against Liverpool.
A horror tackle by Liverpool midfielder Fabinho last week has interrupted his momentum but Crawford (right) isn’t worried by that minor setback, fully convinced Ferguson’s good start will evolve into a great career.
Crawford said: “What Evan has done in the last month or so does not surprise me one bit because I remember when I first saw him, in a Brighton versus Derby under-23s match, when he was 16 at the time; he just looked impressive from the get-go. We promptly brought him into our set-up and I remember thinking to myself, ‘this does not feel right, he’s 16, way too young for under-21 football’.
“But physically he did not look out of place and as soon as I saw him in the games, in training, I could tell he was an outstanding professional.
“Physically and mentally he was ready.
“He is a very mature lad, one who takes on information – nothing fazes him. He just gets on with it. I asked the senior staff what he was like, when he spent time with them in the last international window, and they just said he was outstanding in training.
“We have all seen his performances for
Brighton of late, scoring goals. And the best is yet to come. He is mature beyond his years.” And in a country that has been crying out for a leading goalscorer since Robbie Keane’s retirement, Ferguson’s emergence has filled us full of hope. But also hype.
Hence the outcry when Fabinho delivered such a callous tackle. Crawford said: “We all got a bit panicky with the challenge he received against Liverpool, but by all accounts it is not as serious as everybody thought it would be, which is great news. “I am delighted with how he is playing.”
But if anyone knows there are no guarantees in football, it’s Crawford, not just because he sees all the pitfalls as a modern day manager but also because he too was once a prodigy, signed by Newcastle United at a time when they were riding the crest of a wave.
Yet showing promise and delivering on it are two different things.
“Having a bullet-proof mindset is key to making it,” says Crawford. “It is about living right, training right, being assertive in terms of asking questions of your coaches, not being afraid to knock on your coach’s door and ask him to go over [video] clips.
“I give that advice to all the under-21 players and they all do it. They like to sit down and go through clips of themselves and the opposition. It is important to be consistent with that.
If I was asked ‘what is the main thing you need to make it’ my answer would be a bullet-proof mentality where you ask the question of yourself every day: how can I get better?
“Can I get better physically? Mentally? Tactically? Technically? How can I get better?” Evan has those qualities. He is a fantastic, outstanding professional.”