Neil Lennon confirms Prince-Desire Gouano and Derik Osede will start against Sheffield Wednesday
Neil Lennon says he will stick with a central defensive pairing of Derik Osede and Prince-Desire Gouano for Tuesday’s game against Sheffield Wednesday at Macron Stadium.
Prince and Derik, both summer recruits from Atalanta and Real Madrid respectively, took to the field together for the first time during the weekend’s 2-1 win over Wolves.
With Dorian Dervite struggling to overcome a ligament problem, the manager has confirmed that Prince and Derik will start in what will be Bolton’s second game in four days.
And after both making a positive initial impact on the Bolton fans, Lennon now says the challenge for the pair is to maintain their early high standards.
“It was pleasing to see how the central defensive pairing acquitted themselves on Saturday,” the manager said in his pre-match press conference.
“Both Derik and Prince are very good players and whilst there may have been one or two communication issues at times, on the whole they played well throughout.
“This is a whole new experience for the two of them and they will get better. We’re confident that they will get better with more game time.
“What they do give us is pace at the back, meaning we can push higher up the pitch when we want to press teams.
“The two of them read the game well, they want to defend and they have shown they are willing to put their bodies on the line.
“They both did well against Wolves, the key thing for them now is to maintain that consistency for however long they are in the team for.”
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