Former boss Vreven warns Gers over frontman
GAVIN BERRY
Vreven is now in charge of Belgian second-tier side Beerschot Wilrijk after former Motherwell defender Mitchell van der Gaag replaced him at Breda.
The former international full-back admitted it was a lively four months working with Sadiq and is excited to see how he performs at Gers.
Vreven described him as an individual on and off the park who needs to train harder but admitted the frustration was that he could produce moments of magic that belied his work rate.
He said: “There were times with Umar that I would watch him and think ‘This is unbelievably bad’ and then 10 seconds later he would produce a world-class moment.
“That sums up Umar. He would go from magic to nothing and then magic again. Rangers fans can be sure life won’t be dull with him.
“His style is strange but in a good way. He has fantastic, crazy moments but he can score goals and was really important for our team.
“It’s difficult to play with him but that’s why it’s also difficult to play against him. He is an instinctive player and you don’t know what he’s going to do next.
“Rangers supporters should expect the unexpected. If I had one piece of advice for Gerrard then it would be to close his eyes sometimes and hope that he produces a moment of magic.
“I’ve never seen a player like him, he’s one of a kind. The problem is that he plays as an individual and doesn’t think so much about the team or tactics. He’s a bit opportunistic.
“Life was never smooth with Umar. For example, when we were eating together as a team he would forget and we’d find him sitting in the dressing room or he’d arrive late.
“It was just little things that he sport@dailyrecord.co.uk didn’t seem to be used to. Team meetings and things like that. It got better after a while but he was sloppy in the beginning.
“I don’t want to say he lacks discipline. He had a laid-back attitude and is also a young guy but he has to learn to think as a professional on and off the pitch.
“Umar can improve his fitness 60 per cent in my opinion and when he trains harder he’ll become a much better player than he is now. I told Umar his approach to training was too soft and that he had to change that because he thought he would be fresher on matchday if he kept his energy but it doesn’t work like that.”
Vreven, 45, admitted he constantly tried to drill the message home to Sadiq after being impressed by his skills when watching videos of him in action at Roma.
He said: “It wasn’t easy for him because he joined NAC during the season and he was a young guy with the pressure that comes with being a striker.
“But he coped well and scored goals when he started or came off the bench. He’s a good impact player because he will give the game a boost of energy with his running and he scored a lot for us off the bench.
“He’s a player who prefers to run without the ball than with it and you don’t see that often. It’s more dangerous when a player runs without the ball.
“He was a striker who ran without the ball and that struck me. I don’t know any strikers who run 80 per cent without the ball and it’s fantastic for the team.
“Umar is just a No.9 because you only give him one or two tactical instructions and that’s enough. If you give him five or six instructions then his head is full and it’s too much.
“He can play in a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3 but if he’s the main striker then he’ll produce his best.”