Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Campbell wants Eze and Dembele to do more to earn deals
ARBROATH boss Dick Campbell will continue to run the rule over trialists Ikechi Eze and Nick Dembele.
The pair have been training with the Lichties for the last week and played 45 minutes for the side in the 2-1 friendly win over Brechin on Saturday.
Eze, 26, is a free agent after leaving Maritsa Plovdiv in the Bulgarian second tier.
The midfielder comes from a footballing family with brother Eberechi Eze a rising star at Crystal Palace.
Dembele, meanwhile, left Gosport Borough earlier in the summer.
The towering 25-yearold could provide the Gayfield side with an added attacking option.
However, Campbell said the pair will have to show him a bit more of what they are capable of if they are to earn a deal with the Championship side.
“It’s very interesting for me,” he said. “We had two trialists but I think they could have done better.
“Or they will have to do better.
“They have got a few more days yet, but they have to do more than they did today.”
The Lichties boss was full of praise for new forward Kieran Shanks. The young striker bagged his first goal for the club and looked to give the side some added threat when he came on at the break.
“I changed it round, putting five subs on at halftime,” Campbell added.
“You saw the quality of the ones who came on.
“It was good to see Shanksy getting his first goal. He looks as if he’s got something about him.
“He’s been doing that in training.”
Meanwhile, Campbell joked that he had no complaints on the afternoon – other than the referee’s decision to allow Craig Levein to wear boots for their penalty shoot-out.
The former Scotland boss came out 2-1 winner in the half-time contest.
“I thought the referee was poor at the penalty kicks” he laughed. “I thought they gave him an advantage.
“You can’t play football with a pair of tackety boots. All he was doing was toepoking it.
“The class was in the Arbroath camp.
“It was a good thing and it was helping to bring in money for Brechin which, as you’ll all know, is very close to me as well.”