Dickov dusts off his boots

PAUL Dickov has named himself in the squad to face Bournemouth tomorrow, in a bid to end Athletic’s goal famine which stretches back a month.

The Scot has not featured in the side since a 10-minute cameo against Bristol Rovers last September.

But he decided to shake the dust off his boots and name himself in the travelling party after watching his young team slump to a 5-0 home defeat to Peterborough United.

Skipper Reuben Hazell was also on the team bus which left Boundary Park today, along with winger Lewis Alessandra and full-back Carl Winchester, as Athletic look to end a run of six games without a win or a goal.

Dean Furman serves the second of his two-match ban.

Meanwhile, Dickov says some of his players have more talent than he and assistant Gerry Taggart ever had — but it means nothing without the right attitude.

While he doesn’t doubt the ability of his young squad, the second-half capitulation at the hands of Peterborough has led Dickov to question their desire.

He said: “I was speaking to one of the top managers in the Barclays Premier League this week, and he told me attitude is everything in professional football.

“There are lads in the dressing room with more ability than myself or Gerry had. But we carved out a career based on hard work and the right approach.

“I hate using us as examples normally. But these boys have to realise, it is a short career and players get forgotten about very quickly.”

Dickov comes up against a familiar face in the opposition dugout at Dean Court in former Manchester City strike partner Lee Bradbury.

The pair have remained friends since their mid-90s experience at Maine Road, to the extent that Bradbury is godfather to the Athletic manager’s son, Sam.

Dickov senior continued: “Lee is a big pal of mine. I was with him the night he got offered the Bournemouth job and he was buzzing.

“He has gone nine games unbeaten which is a fantastic run by anyone’s standards.

“Some people think it was maybe a bit easy for him to take over from Eddie Howe, because Eddie did a great job and everything was already in place for Lee.

“I disagree — it’s harder if anything, because there is more pressure on the new guy to keep up the good work. Lee has done even better so far.”