Pugh is putting in 90 minute performances

Marc Pugh is one player who had to really fight to keep his shirt this season. In previous seasons he was an automatic choice but the form of Ryan Fraser has given him plenty of competition for his starting place. Currently though it is Marc that is putting in the performances and upping his game.

Pugh is fighting hard to retain his shirt.

Against Burnley I was mesmerised by the fast footwork and silky turns of Marc Pugh especially in the second half when he carried out his work in front of the Family stand. We had already seen him go past three players in the first half before winning a free kick and in the second half he seemed to pass players at will. Even in defence he was often seen getting to the ball first on corners and clearing the danger. 

He also got to the byline on occasions and his pull back for Shaun MacDonald in the final 10 minutes could so easily have provided the winner when Simon Francis came up on the right only to fire against the cross bar. Perhaps scoring twice in two games was asking a lot of Francis. The instigator of all the panic in Burnley's defence though was Pugh. It will be key for him to keep his performances like this one going for 90 minutes as Pugh has so often been the first sub to be made. On this latest outing though the only thing I could fault was that he did not have many shots on goal. His overall work rate though and his crosses were tantalisingly good and I hope for more of the same next weekend.