The Scottish Mail on Sunday

Dykes can be the surprise package against England, warns Ferdinand

- By Fraser Mackie

LES FERDINAND has savoured having a real throwback of a centre-forward around his club in recent months.

‘There’s not many of his type about now,’ notes the Queens Park Rangers director of football.

Ferdinand’s enthusiasm for the towering, physical figure of Lyndon Dykes even threatens to create a little division of loyalty for the former England striker on Friday evening.

He can well imagine Dykes leading the Scotland forward line in the Group D Auld Enemy showdown at Wembley, causing his own brand of chaos for a classy group of Gareth

Southgate defenders.

Harry Maguire, John Stones and Tyrone Mings are far more accustomed to confrontin­g a fancy false nine than a nuisance in the Dykes mould these days.

Dykes is well out of fashion. As a top administra­tor for a Championsh­ip club, however, Ferdinand has needs.

He also owns an appreciati­on, that has evaporated at elite level, for what he describes as ‘a traditiona­l No 9’.

Ferdinand and ex-Rangers manager Mark Warburton signed the Australia-born forward for £2million from Livingston last summer. While they did all their due diligence, including personal checks by Ferdinand, he suspects England’s defenders will have plenty of homework to do on someone who could emerge as a secret weapon for Scotland.

Ferdinand said: ‘Some of the England defenders won’t know a lot about him. They won’t do because most of those boys play in the Premier League.

‘I certainly think that will help him. Being that unknown factor may well be a positive for him and Scotland. I can certainly see him causing England a few problems. He plays that role of a traditiona­l No9 very well.

‘Everyone in that Scotland squad will be fired up to beat England and Lyndon will be no different.

‘He has done well for his country so far and we, at the club, are delighted for him. His enthusiasm and endeavour to do what he needs to do won’t be affected by the fact he’s going in there to play against England.

‘Hopefully, he’ll go ahead and have a great tournament. I hope people will be singing his praises at the end of it.’

Ferdinand, who enjoyed a prolific club career with QPR, Newcastle and Tottenham, gained 17 caps for his country but was an unused squad member at both Euro ’96 in England and the France ’98 World Cup Finals.

Dykes had no sooner signed on the dotted line at Loftus Road than his own internatio­nal career took flight, scoring on his second start against a weakened Czech Republic side in the Nations League last September.

The 6ft 3in striker promptly followed up by scoring penalties in his first two appearance­s for QPR, victories over Nottingham Forest and Coventry City.

The 25-year-old finished the campaign strongly, too, with seven goals in his last 10 Championsh­ip games. Yet Dykes endured a horror mid-season run for a striker — a wretched 21-match scoring drought from November 27 to March 20.

That left him subjected to scathing criticism as the west London club threatened to be dragged into the relegation zone.

Two former England forwards sprang to his aid. Ferdinand provided the wise counsel behind the scenes, while the inspired signing of Charlie Austin alleviated much of the pressure the former Queen of the South man had been feeling.

Ferdinand explained: ‘There have been difficult times but he rode those and has done extremely well for us. A lot happened for Lyndon in a short period and I had to keep reminding him of that.

‘No career just goes up all the time. There are going to be ups and downs. I said: “You’ve left Livingston, you’ve come to the Championsh­ip and you’ve become Scotland’s No9”.

‘That takes some getting used to. Eventually, he’s embraced it all. This time last year, he was a Livingston player.

‘Lots has gone on, he’s had to move his family down to London. Look, they are not difficulti­es — every player wants to excel and go as high up the ladder as we’re allowed to go.

‘And a career can take all these steps. All I’m saying is they happened quickly and, sometimes, it can be a bit mind-boggling and a lot to take on board.

‘He has done well to just keep his head down and work away through it. He got himself 12 goals in the Championsh­ip, so that is a good first season.’

 ??  ?? TARGET MAN: Dykes is seen as a traditiona­l No9
TARGET MAN: Dykes is seen as a traditiona­l No9

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