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Have your say: Mandaric weighing up price of playing Morrison
Clinton Morrison
SHEFFIELD Wednesday chairman Milan Mandaric is set to take a gamble on Clinton Morrison’s importance to the club’s promotion push.
Manager Gary Megson has revealed that Morrison will not be able to play in forthcoming games unless the Owls are prepared to offer him a new deal.
His existing contract, which will expire in the summer, contains a clause related to first-team appearances which is about to be triggered.
If he reaches a set number of games, he is automatically entitled to a new deal.
Morrison, 32, dropped out of the Championship to join the Owls two summers ago and is one of the highest paid players at Hillsborough.
He scored against Blackpool in the FA Cup at the weekend and hopes to be involved in tonight’s trip to League One promotion rivals Milton Keynes Dons.
The Owls would move back into the top two with victory tonight but still have another 18 games to play between now and the end of the season.
Whether they can afford to be without Morrison is the big question for both Mandaric and Megson, who are desperate to ensure the Owls return to the Championship.
Megson said: “I have just been made aware of one of these dopey clauses that they put in contracts for some of the players before Milan and (chief executive) Paul Aldridge arrived. We will handle it in the best way for Sheffield Wednesday and the best way for Clinton.
“It’s just another thing I have to cope with,” added Megson, who had to deal with a similar issue last season surrounding midfielder Tommy Miller.
“It’s hard managing here. There are things you have to manage that ordinarily you don’t. But I have spoken with Clinton and I get on really well with the guy. He’a a great lad. In terms of how big a role he will have now, we will just have to wait and see.”
Morrison is unlikely to start tonight’s game due to the form of strikers Chris O’Grady and Gary Madine, who were both rested at the weekend. However, the former Republic of Ireland international had expressed a firm desire to stay and help the Owls try to win promotion – even as a support act from the bench.
Wednesday have secured the services of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder John Bostock on loan until the end of the season.
Bostock, 20, joined Spurs in a £700,000 transfer from Crystal Palace three years ago but has made only four appearances as a substitute so far and has been loaned out to both Brentford and Hull City.
Megson says Bostock still has the potential to be ‘the next big thing’ but may have struggled with some of the pressures that accompanied his big money move.
“Sometimes you can get too much too early and, when he left Palace to go to Spurs for big dough, there was an awful lot to cope with. It’s unfair, four years on, to say ‘Was it a mistake joining Tottenham?’ because you’ve got the benefit of hindsight.
“But it’s very difficult for young players at Tottenham. Just look at the positions in which he can play. He has either got to get Gareth Bale out of the side, Luca Modric or Scott Parker, or Adebayor or Defoe.
“Sometimes young players need to be playing to get the experience,” he added. “When Kyle Walker went down to Tottenham from (Sheffield) United, they loaned him back straight away and that helped Kyle. Now he’s absolutely flying and looks terrific. That didn’t happen with John but you have to deal with it.”
Bostock’s ability to play in a number of positions will be important for the Owls but he is likely to figure most on the left wing where the Owls have been found wanting since loanee Ben Marshall returned to Stoke City.
Leicester City are now favourites to land Marshall after lodging a bid in the region of £750,000 and Megson joked: “He wasn’t worth that kind of money before he came here.
“Whatever transpires, I hope it’s good for Ben and Stoke City.
“He was great for us and if it falls through I will be on the phone again to (Stoke manager) Tony Pulis to see if we can do anything.”
After making seven changes for the Blackpool game, Megson will revert to his first-choice line-up tonight with left-back Reda Johnson also in contention after missing two games with a back injury. Defender Daniel Jones, however, has been ruled out for four to six weeks with a calf injury.
Looking ahead to tonight’s game, Megson said: “We know it’s going to be tough because of the fact they are just behind ourselves and they have a good side. The bottom line is we have to keep winning.”
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