Scapuzzi set to explode - Dickov

LUCA SCAPUZZI: taking time to adjust.

PATIENCE is key when it comes to getting the very best out of Luca Scapuzzi.

After arriving on the Boundary Park scene with a bang, with a double stepover and sweet strike marking his first appearance on loan for Athletic against Crewe, the AC Milan product has found things trickier in the frantic, rough-and-tumble environment of npower League One.

Life won't exactly be a picnic for the Manchester City teenager by the sea at Southend tomorrow (3pm) .

Roots Hall will be buzzing, with Shrimpers fans trying to shout home their team to a club record-equalling 17th game without defeat.

But Athletic manager Paul Dickov believes that, given time, Scapuzzi's talent will shine through.

"Luca is no different to a lot of the other loan players we have had," Dickov said, of a player who arrived at the club from the Etihad Stadium along with compatriot Andrea Mancini.

"It will be four or five games until we get the best out of him. It is a big change from what he has been used to, in a lot of ways — the set-up, the football that gets played and the grounds he is going to.

"His attitude is bang-on. He is desperate to do well here and he is always asking questions. It is a credit to the kid. He may have a baby face at 19, but he has the mentality of a more experienced player."

Paul Sturrock's side are certainly packing knowhow in their front line, with all-time Millwall top goal scorer Neil Harris lining up alongside well-travelled hit man Liam Dickinson.

Dickov, who saw the Shrimpers play while scouting for the Crewe game in October, refutes the notion that they will be unrefined in their approach.

"Southend are a team who like to play football," he added. "As much as they are big, strong and well-organised, they have good players. You look at Harris and Dickinson up front and then Ryan Hall out wide.

"Ryan is a big threat — one of the best players in that division — and a player I know well. When I was coming back from injury at Manchester City I went on loan to Crystal Palace where he was in the youth system and very highly thought of. They will mix it up and will be a threat."

Sturrock is equally respectful of the challenge that he faces tomorrow and expects the clash to be a good contest.

"Athletic are a hard-working, heavy-hitting side who are in form and scoring plenty of goals, so it will be a very difficult test," said the Southend manager.

"They have some excellent attacking players with the likes of Shefki Kuqi, Robbie Simpson and Chris Taylor but, while we know it will be tough, it will also be refreshing to come up against a team looking to attack us rather than just sitting back to frustrate us."