Mark Hughes hoping striker Lee Angol can have ‘impact’ at Bradford City

THE discerning eye of Mark Hughes has seen enough of Lee Angol to know that the Bradford City striker is a higher-level player than the fourth tier.

For the Bantams chief, the trick in terms of getting the best out of the 27-year-old, who signed a new deal earlier this week, is careful management of his workload and fitness programme.

Hughes said: “I think the key from Lee’s point of view is that he knows we will look after him in terms of understanding him and his requirements in terms of his fitness because clearly he has had problems in the past.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Maybe that was a little bit of mismanagement on occasions throughout his career.

Bradford City's Lee Angol celebrates scoring against Port Vale. Picture: Simon HulmeBradford City's Lee Angol celebrates scoring against Port Vale. Picture: Simon Hulme
Bradford City's Lee Angol celebrates scoring against Port Vale. Picture: Simon Hulme

“It is clear he feels very comfortable with the guys in the medical department and you garner trust between each other and that’s important.

“We’d like to think we will be good in that area for him and I think he can see the potential of the club and where we want to go next year and he wants to be part of that.

“The injuries have hampered him, but arguably he is a higher-level player than League Two in terms of technical ability, but sometimes you don’t take that leap that your talent deserves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But hopefully the next 18 months or so will be important for him and next year, will be ideally when he will make an impact.”

Another key development this week saw Stephen Gent join as head of recruitment and Hughes says his arrival will further add to the impetus the club have already made in terms of lining up targets for next season.

Hughes added: “We are pleased with where we are and ahead of the game of where we thought we would be at this point, so that’s good. Now it is about getting the right people at the club to be successful next year.”

Left-back Liam Ridehalgh is to undergo groin surgery.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.