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Could Shane Long thrive at a club like Liverpool? John Giles shares his thoughts on that

It appears as if Liverpool's interest in Shane Long is fading away, but it did raise an important...



Could Shane Long thrive at a c...
Soccer

Could Shane Long thrive at a club like Liverpool? John Giles shares his thoughts on that

It appears as if Liverpool's interest in Shane Long is fading away, but it did raise an important question over the Ireland striker's ability to settle in at the bright lights of one of the Premier League's traditional big clubs.

John Giles was on Off The Ball tonight and shared his perspective on that question.

"I'm a great admirer of Shane Long. I think he's a terrific lad. I saw Shane Long playing for the Irish team a couple of years ago and he chased everything down. He was absolutely brilliant and I think he scored in the game as well. But I haven't seen him do it since for Ireland or Southampton," said John.

"You'd want to be doing it every week. Week in and week out. When he does it, he's very, very good and when he comes on for Southampton, he's been their best forward by a long way. He's got to maintain it. If Klopp had him, I think he obviously sees that in him and he'd probably think 'I can get that from him' - which he may do. It's hard to know."  

Turning to players currently at Liverpool, John feels the Reds need to start playing to his strengths rather than the other way round.

"It's funny with managers. Some managers see the glass half-empty when they see a player and some see it half-full. In his case, he's looking at Benteke and the glass is definitely half-empty because he's seeing what he's not doing. But at the moment, he has nobody better," he said. 

John also gave his take on whether Riyad Mahrez can rediscover his form from the first half of the season now that opponents will be keeping a closer eye on him.

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