Slovakian stopper boosted by Dickov faith.
Marko Marosi has been given the unequivocal backing of his first team manager, Paul Dickov.The Slovakian goalkeeper will make his FA Cup debut this evening in the third round replay with a game in the next round against Premier League opposition lying in wait, and Dickov said it won’t be an issue.
“He can handle the pressure,” said Dickov.
“He’s a good young keeper whose improved since he got here in the summer and he’s an under 21 international. We’ve talked about his situation and you have to get your chance sometime and I’ve every confidence in him.
“He’s done well in the development squad, in training and he’ll be buzzing. He’s got a great mentality, he’s very grounded and calm and we’ve got a lot of faith in him.”
Rovers need to overcome fellow League One club Bristol City at Ashton Gate to set up a meeting with either West Ham United or Everton and Dickov has been left without Manchester United loanee Sam Johnstone who has moved on an initial temporary basis to hometown club Preston North End.
“It’s a huge blow because he’s been excellent for us. The timing’s not ideal because we’ve got a big game and there’s an FA ruling there which stops us bringing in another player but it presents Marko with a chance to shine and show everyone why I signed him.
“It happens so you accept it. He was on a short term deal and there was a call back on that and there always the slight possibility of it happening and its happened so it will make it all the more sweeter if we go down there and get a result,” Dickov said.
Rovers come up against one of Dickov’s major success stories in Matt Smith, a player he once signed for Oldham Athletic from non-league football and helped defeat Liverpool in this very competition just a few seasons ago.
Since, the giant forward has moved to Fulham via Leeds United and is currently on loan at City where he has plundered nine goals in his last five outings, yet Dickov is confident of drawing on previous experience.
“I know from the cup runs I had at Oldham how beneficial it (a cup run) was,” he recalled.
“It’s massive for lots of reasons, we want to keep the run going, and I want to give the club the exposure and the players likewise.
“We want to win. There are no second chances and the result has to be finalised one way or the other. We’ve got the carrot of getting a Premier League club here but we have to go and win and concentrate on that more.
“I think anybody who’s seen us play lately will see how much work rate we’ve got and that’s probably our greatest asset at the moment.”