Liverpool youngster Kieran Morrison told 'hard work first' in honest early Sheffield Wednesday appraisal
Several new faces have enjoyed an eye-catching start to life at Sheffield Wednesday.
Two assists and a host of bright moments have punctuated Kieran Morrison’s start to life as a Sheffield Wednesday player - with the Liverpool starlet at the outset of a voyage of discovery in his time at S6.
Morrison was at the heart of the Owls’ goals in a battling 2-1 win at Peterborough United on Saturday and has produced a number of defence-opening moments across his five hours of senior football so far. The one-cap Northern Ireland international scooped the ball goalwards to prompt the Josh Feeney own goal that served as Wednesday’s equaliser at London Road and the swung in the corner for Yan Valery to head home the winner.
The clash served at Morrison’s very first start in first team football, with the previous extent of his exposure to the men’s game capped at a couple of cup outings with his parent club. Though his attacking talents ultimately proved match-winning, there are aspects of his game that naturally require fine-tuning as he continues his journey into 90-minute senior performances.
In the absence of the injured Louie Barry, the confident 19-year-old started on the left of the front four - a departure from his usual spot cutting in from the right. There were moments Reece James was left a little exposed to the lively Bofu Shofowoke and while the focus was on his match-turning attacking output, Owls boss Henrik Pedersen outlined some of the areas required for him to get the best out of his experience-building loan at S6.
“He has a lot of things to learn,” Pedersen told The Star. “Kieran has some top quality on the ball. He can play left, but best in the right. We started with him in the left today (at Peterborough) because I think Jamal (Lowe) and Yan (Valery) and Slat (Callum Slattery) have been really strong in our right side.
“We don't really have other players who can stay on the sideline in the left side, when we build up with a three and we have a wide player there. I know it's not his best position, but all the defensive stuff he has to learn and to put much more value in this. You can see he really grows because he's really working with this part of the game. It's a little bit the same process as Harry (Gray).
“It's not only to have the ball in the feet and make nice things. It's hard work first. When you've done your hard work, then the other things will also come with the quality he has. That's also the reason why after 74, 75 minutes, we put him to the right side and they put Slat to the left side. He's a very, very interesting player who can play both sides.
“He's best on the right. He's growing and growing and today for him, it was a big, big learning game.”