LISA SMITH
Staff writer
lisa.smith@birminghampost.net
Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Andy Keogh believes the entire squad has a part to play in the battle for promotion to the top flight and, while he would rather be right in the thick of the action, he accepts there may be times when players have to accept a back-seat role.
The Irish star has been one of those having to compete for a place off the bench for spells this season with Wolves’ strike partnership of Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake on song this season with 29 goals between them in the campaign so far.
But Keogh came on in Tuesday night’s 3-0 demolition of Derby County and had a hand in both of Ebanks-Blake’s goals to try and stake his claim for future consideration.
Keogh said; “It was nice just to get a start because I’ve been doing a job for the team trying to contribute.
“I think I contributed on Tuesday night – we got a win, so I couldn’t have been that bad.
“The manager has got a dilemma and that’s good because whoever is on the bench won’t sulk – they will come on and add something.
“You don’t get promoted with 11 players – you get promoted with 16, 17 or 18 players.”
The win over Paul Jewell’s side kept Wolves three points clear at the top of the Coca Cola Championship with a chink of daylight between thenmselves and nearest rivals Birmingham City.
Keogh added: “We’ve realised that it’s not just the 11 on the pitch – it’s as many as there are in the squad because at some stage, everyone will make a contribution or win us a point.
“We’re just looking forward to the visit of Barnsley now tomorrow – let’s win that one. We’ve proved how we can play in this league.
“People know what we can do but we’re just taking every game as it comes. It’s up to us to keep standards as high as they have been.”
