Marcus McGuane’s hour of opportunity finally came on Saturday as he was named in the Bristol City starting line-up for the first time against Leeds United and assistant head coach Chris Hogg has given his verdict on McGuane’s performance.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona youth star joined the Robins in the summer, moving from Oxford United on a two-year deal as City looked to regain some depth in midfield after the departures of the experienced Matty James and Andy King to contract expiry and retirement respectively.
Bristol City boss Liam Manning and Hogg both worked with McGuane during their time with the U’s before they made the move to City last November and finally gifted him his full debut at the weekend with the midfielder playing just a tad under 60 minutes at Ashton Gate.
“Marcus has had to bide his time,” admitted Hogg in his press conference after Saturday lunchtime’s 0-0 draw.
“Obviously, Liam and I know him well. We had him at Oxford so we know how good he is and how good he can be. He’s not played for a long time, I have to say. He got a brief sub appearance at Middlesbrough last week. Before that, his last appearance probably would’ve been at Wembley for Oxford in the playoff final.”
McGuane was a staple in Manning’s old Oxford side and continued his good form when U’s head coach Des Buckingham came in to replace Manning, however fell out of favour around March time.
After being left out of numerous matchday squads, he worked his way back into the fold at the Yellows and appeared off the bench at Wembley in Oxford’s 2-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the League One play-off final.
McGuane’s attitude was previously commended by Buckingham after his spell out of the Oxford side and has been recognised by Reds assistant head coach Hogg, along with his physical condition, during the early stages of his career in BS3.
“You look at what he’s gone through and how hard he’s trained, and I thought he showed signs of what he can do today with his athleticism,” Hogg declared, assessing his midfielder’s performance on his full debut.
“One recovery run where I don’t think many other players on the pitch would’ve made it with his athleticism and he showed some decent signs with the ball, and it was always going to be a case of what he could bring for his time he was on the pitch. But lots of good things I’ve seen.”
Just after the halfway mark of McGuane’s hour in action, City full back Ross McCrorie was forced off the pitch, going down injured just in front of the Lansdown Stand.
The injury has come at a tough time for the Robins with McCrorie recently having to play on his opposite side due to knocks to regular left backs Cam Pring and Haydon Roberts.
Hogg revealed after the game that McCrorie felt an issue with his hamstring, however not the one he has previously injured, and that it was to be assessed this coming week.
The Scot was replaced by fellow countryman Kal Naismith who operated on the left side for the remainder of the game despite his traditional position being in the middle of the defence.
City’s left back solutions are beginning to thin, and should the McCrorie injury be bad news, things could get a touch more experimental.
“Who knows with the time scale of Ross?” admitted Hogg.
“We’re hoping it’s not too bad and we’ve got boys coming back in. Haydon Roberts is back training a little bit and hopefully his time’s not too far away.
“Football is never straightforward, so we have to be adaptable. We have to evolve and keep trying to think of certain solutions and I think, going back to the players, what they have done is show adaptability at times with players in various positions so it’s a real strength of the group. We’ve got a couple more ideas around how we could try and solve it but if you’ve got any then write them on a postcard, send them in and I’ll have a look.”