LEARNING CURVE
Anderson is willing to do the hard yards to ensure he’s ready to cope with all aspects of a striker’s role
AS he chased shadows, fed on scraps and grew tired and thirsty in the Ibrox sun, Bruce Anderson’s Premiership debut for Livingston looked like one big lost cause. week on, the former Aberdeen striker doesn’t quite see it that way. Few shifts will be as arduous as last Saturday but they shone a bright light on all the facets of his game he must improve if he is to develop into the player his new club need him to be.
He’s under no illusions about his place in the game’s pecking order but reasons that if he wants to get better, he might as well learn from the very best.
And if hard work and study are the gateways to self-improvement, the 22-year-old shouldn’t come up short.
‘You’re extra-drained after a game like that, I was knackered,’ he admits. ‘But it’s a learning curve. I need to get better at playing as that sole No9.
‘In the last two months, I’ve been doing a lot more in the gym than I have in my whole career.
‘Outside of training, everything is to do with football for me. I watch games from everywhere, even if there’s a Spanish or Italian game on — I watch them all.
‘As a young player, you have to be a sponge and absorb everything. I look down south at the top strikers, the likes of Sergio Aguero who always played as a one. Or Jamie Vardy — these guys aren’t the biggest but they can play on their own.
‘I also remember watching Wayne Rooney do it at Manchester United. I watch clips of them all. Most nights I’m on YouTube looking at strikers.
‘Even back in the day, my dad used to show me clips of Kenny
Dalglish. That’s all I know, it’s what I do.’
Anderson exploded onto the scene with a goal that occupied bandwidth across the UK and beyond a couple of years ago.
Pitched in as a substitute by Derek McInnes on the opening day of the season, his sharp, instinctive strike from the edge of the box beat Allan McGregor and prevented Steven Gerrard enjoying a winning start as Rangers manager.
He never did manage to pin down a regular place at Pittodrie, largely because his physicality never was a match for the incumbent centre-forward Sam Cosgrove.
Yet his new manager, Davie Martindale, sees things differently. Yes, he would like to see Anderson bulk up and add extra power and hold-up play, but he also reasons that he has added a player who can offer his Livingston team a fresh attacking dimension.
‘We’ve had Dolly Menga, Lyndon Dykes and Scott Robinson but they were all turned into No 9s,’ observed Martindale. ‘So it’s nice to have a striker who doesn’t need coaching with his movement — it’s already there. Bruce has always been a No9 and that was a really appealing aspect for me. He works hard, he’s a good finisher and I also think he’s at a good age.
‘We need to play to his strengths and that’s about getting the ball into the penalty box for him and using his pace and movement to get in behind defences.
‘The one area Bruce can get better at is his hold-up play and that comes with extra physicality.’
The fact Martindale has seen fit to hand Anderson a three-year deal at Livingston would suggest he will be given the time to adapt.
‘That was massive,’ admitted the striker. ‘Speaking to the manager, he told me he’d tried to get me for a few years.
‘That’s what I wanted to hear. I came into the building high on confidence, knowing I had the backing of the manager and the coaching staff.
‘He’s improved players like Lyndon Dykes in the past, that’s another reason I’ve come here.
‘Ultimately, I want to be the best player I can be and working under him is the best thing for me at this point in my career.’
Anderson has already bagged a couple of League Cup goals for his new club but would love to open his Premiership account as the Dons visit Almondvale this afternoon. ‘When the fixtures came out, this one stood out to me. I’m raring to go and I can’t wait for it to come along. I don’t think I’ve got a point to prove. I’m a Livingston player now and I’m just trying to do the best I can for them.
‘Hopefully I’ll see a bit more of the ball this week. The more possession we have, the more I can show what I’m capable of — and the more opportunities I’ll have to score goals.’