Bosz insists no half measures from Havertz
Saints manager willing to test crowd noise
BAYER Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz insists he has no concerns over Kai Havertz’s commitment levels, vowing the Chelsea target will be the first name down on his team-sheet to face Rangers.
The Germany winger is reported to be close to a £70m switch to Stamford Bridge.
But Bosz does not believe the 21-year-old will have his mind in London when his current employers reacquaint themselves with their Europa League rivals from Glasgow after a five-month break.
Havertz scored the opener from the spot at Ibrox as Leverkusen claimed a 3-1 firstleg lead and are now looking to finish the job at the BayArena.
“I will answer these questions very shortly,” said
Bosz. “Yes, he will play and yes I’m convinced he’s 100 per cent still fighting for Leverkusen.”
While Havertz is available, Dutchman Bosz has been hit with a selection dilemma ahead of the last-16 return clash. Paulinho will miss out after rupturing his cruciate ligament and Dutch winger Karim Bellarabi is struggling with a muscle problem.
Midfielder Nadiem Amiri is also out of the showdown with Steven Gerrard’s men, having been placed in quarantine after coming into contact with a close friend who has since tested positive for coronavirus.
To make matters worse, midfielder Kerem Demirbay and right-back Mitchell
Weiser are both suspended, meaning Bosz will have to put his trust in playmaker Charles Aranguiz and leftback
CALLUM DAVIDSON has revealed that St Johnstone are exploring the option of playing crowd noise over the McDiarmid Park public address system for their clash with Aberdeen on Saturday.
A number of clubs in Scotland have made use of their sound systems across preseason and into the opening weekend of the campaign to try and recreate a familiar feeling and atmosphere.
Davidson, who sampled a number of behind-closeddoors games while he was still assistant manager at Millwall, believes players prefer having some background sound to bounce off when they are performing on the pitch.
He said: “It’s definitely something we’re going to have a look at.
“I know from experience down the road that players prefer some sort of noise during the game. We’ll have a look.
“We’ll probably get out on the pitch and see what it’s like. As a player, sometimes you don’t even notice when in the heat of the game.”
With the absence of crowds there are no hiding places for the players, with every move and word being picked up by the cameras and microphones following the action.
Despite the odd expletive, Davidson insists it is a plus point for supporters to be able to hear what is being said between players and management during a match.
Highlighting the importance of players talking their way through 90 minutes, he continued: “I’d encourage all players to do that. Liam Gordon has got that constant pitch in his voice and you can hear him all the time.
“The fact that you can hear Liam is great, but there are others who talk in different ways.
“One of the good things without having a crowd is that you can hear what’s being said on the pitch.
“I think I shouted more on Saturday because we were down to 10 men. I’m always a bit hoarse after games – that is just me.”
Saints opened their season with a draw at newly promoted Dundee United and after digesting the game over the week, Davidson pinpointed areas where improvement is needed.
He said: “We worked better as a team in the second half, which is something we want to build on.