Speaking to PNE PlayerHD after the Lancashire Senior Cup tie with Bolton Wanderers, first team coach Steve Thompson spoke about the return of Stevie May.
May came through just over 70 minutes of action on his first start for almost a year and after the game Thompson had praise for both the player and the staff who had worked so hard with him to get him back into shape.
“The physios and fitness coaches have worked really hard with him,” he told the club’s online TV channel. “It has been a long journey. We were out on the grass and he was in the gym, working on the machines and they eventually got him back out there and that owes every credit to Matt Jackson and Tom Little and it is now our job to get the football in to him.
“I think he looks stronger than when he first came here and hopefully we can get the Stevie May back that we signed, as he will be a great asset when we do.
“We have to be careful.
“We don’t want to rush him too much. As much as we want him to work hard and get the minutes under his belt and do extra work after training, but we just have to be a little bit careful, as we don’t want any setbacks now or any niggles.
“With the staff that we have here, we are honest to say that if they have a niggle, we will ease right down on them. Stevie knows his body better than anyone else and if there are days where he feels a little bit tired then we will ease down on him.
“He has done all the hard sessions we have been doing and hasn’t pulled out of anything and I am chuffed to bits for him. He wanted to stay on a little bit longer, which is a good sign and it is a start for him.”
You can watch more from Tommo as he talks about the game, the young players’ involvement and about the competition for places in the squad on PNE PlayerHD now – click here to log in and watch.
“The physios and fitness coaches have worked really hard with him,” he told the club’s online TV channel. “It has been a long journey. We were out on the grass and he was in the gym, working on the machines and they eventually got him back out there and that owes every credit to Matt Jackson and Tom Little and it is now our job to get the football in to him.
“I think he looks stronger than when he first came here and hopefully we can get the Stevie May back that we signed, as he will be a great asset when we do.
“We have to be careful.
“We don’t want to rush him too much. As much as we want him to work hard and get the minutes under his belt and do extra work after training, but we just have to be a little bit careful, as we don’t want any setbacks now or any niggles.
“With the staff that we have here, we are honest to say that if they have a niggle, we will ease right down on them. Stevie knows his body better than anyone else and if there are days where he feels a little bit tired then we will ease down on him.
“He has done all the hard sessions we have been doing and hasn’t pulled out of anything and I am chuffed to bits for him. He wanted to stay on a little bit longer, which is a good sign and it is a start for him.”
You can watch more from Tommo as he talks about the game, the young players’ involvement and about the competition for places in the squad on PNE PlayerHD now – click here to log in and watch.