Aye, aye, skipper!

COMEBACK TRAIL: Athletic captain Dean Furman could be on the bench on Monday.

Furman and Black could return for Dons clash
DEAN Furman and Paul Black could be surprise names in Athletic’s squad for Monday night’s showdown with MK Dons, manager Paul Dickov has revealed.

The duo have only returned to full training this week after long periods out through injury but neither has since suffered any ill-effects.

Club captain Furman made only two appearances in August before surgery to correct a long-standing knee cartilage problem was deemed necessary; Black’s groin problem ruled him out of contention for all of last month.

Roles on the substitutes’ bench are likely to be the best the pair can hope for on Monday at Boundary Park.

There they will sit alongside striker Matt Smith, a rookie to the professional game who is having to bide his time.

The 22-year-old has scored two goals this term and causes a menace to opposition defences whenever he emerges from the dug-out.

Dickov sees Smith as a work-in-progress, with plenty of hard graft being put in behind the scenes on his all-round game.

“Big Matt has been excellent,” said Dickov, who described as “massive” the respective return to fitness of Furman and Black.

“But he also understands he has only been a professional footballer for three months now.

“We don’t want to give him too much, too early.

“We are looking after him and working with him on the training ground, which is more important at the minute than getting him out there on matchdays.

“One thing I will say on Matt is that whether we are winning, losing or drawing, when he comes on to the pitch he makes an impact for us.

“If you are winning games, he takes the pressure off the team because he is an outlet.

“If you are losing games, he puts defences on the back foot because he is a real threat in the box.”

Dickov is targeting a committed and tenacious performance against Karl Robinson’s high-flying Dons.

“We are at our best when we play with intensity,” Dickov added.

“Whether we are winning games, drawing or losing at the moment, we look like scoring.

"So we have to have the concentration levels to defend as we did at Scunthorpe.

“If we do that, we really are a match for anyone in this division.”

Another boost for the Athletic manager was the form shown by Filipe Morais at Scunthorpe in his first game back in the starting line-up for a month.

“It is no secret I think Filly is one of the best players in this division with the ball.

“He has had his problems fitness-wise with his knee and getting himself back to levels to start games.

“If we can get him fit and firing and with no worries about his knee, he is a massive plus for us.”