GARY O’Neil will remain cautious with managing the return of captain Lloyd Kelly, despite admitting that he is “huge” for Cherries. O’Neil’s comments suggest that Kelly appears to be in contention for Cherries’ trip to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, December 27 to face Chelsea, O’Neil urged caution in regard to rushing his skipper back into action after a “longish layoff”. Commenting on Kelly’s situation,
Gary O’Neil stated: “No, he hasn’t been in my ear. He just tries to show me every day on the grass, as they all do. All the boys are desperate to play. But when you’re out for twelve weeks, you’re desperate to get back. My job is to make sure he comes back in the right shape, make sure he’s ready, make sure it benefits the team and Lloyd. So there’s a lot of decisions to make when someone comes back off a longish layoff. There is a lot to consider.”
Whilst wary of rushing Kelly back, O’Neil is more than aware to what the centre-back gives his side.”
Gary O Neil added: “As I said when we lost him, he is huge for us. He’s huge. Fantastic player, athletically excellent, good on the ball. So, yeah, he’s huge for us. But as I said in the last answer, he needs to be right. He’s been out for a long time, takes work, not only fitness work, getting up to speed with football things, your decision making. So we need to make sure that Lloyd is in the right place and it’s right for everybody that he comes back in.
Cherries have depth at centre-back, with Chris Mepham returning from the fringes of the squad to cement himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet. Summer signing Marcos Senesi has adapted to the rigors of the Premier League to serve as a more than adequate replacement for Kelly as a left-footed centre-back, whilst Southampton loanee Jack Stephens offers a wealth of experience in the wings.
Gary O’Neil added: “Jack Stephens has been excellent as well. The two Everton games, I thought he was fantastic. So yeah, I think I’d rather be sat here discussing the four of them than going into the Everton game with only the two that we had. So yeah, pleased that they’re all back and available. I’m sure they’ll all be used, and it’ll be huge in the rest of the season and us trying to be successful.”
