Special Kay deserving of high praise says Moore

Feb 26 2008 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post

IN CONTRAST to the no nonsense approach adopted by many of the battlers who ply their trade in League One, Tranmere’s Antony Kay aspires to be a more cultured kind of central defender.

Manager Ronnie Moore has revealed that rather than adopting a basic ‘heading and tackling’ approach the 25-year-old bases his game on England’s legendary World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore.

He said: “Antony Kay is a quality player, he’s the old-fashioned number six if you like. He’s not the domineering, go and head it, Ron Yeats centre-half but he likes to think of himself as more of a Bobby Moore.

“He drops off, plays and uses the ball really well as a defender.

“He’s also a danger from set-plays and has scored five goals this season which is brilliant for a centre-back.

“One of them which he scored here would have been shown for about three months if it had been by a Premier League player. He flicked the ball over the lad’s head and volleyed it into the net.

“He’s quite capable of technique like that and can play anywhere – that’s the great thing.”

With nine bookings to his name – yellow cards are an occupational hazard for defenders these days no matter how refined your style is – Kay is currently walking a disciplinary tightrope and must stay out of trouble until April 13 if he is to avoid a two-match suspension.

Although Moore fears it is an inevitability that Kay will eventually succumb at some point, he believes the player’s versatility could help him get back into the side, possibly in a different position.

He said: “Antony can play right-back, centre-back or central midfield, he’s so comfortable on the ball and at a club like that we need those kind of players.

“He’s a big plus for us but if Kay comes out and Ben Chorley comes in and does well who’s to say where he can fit in.

“He’ll put pressure on Robbie Stockdale and the midfield players right away so it’s good for me to have players who can play in different positions.”

Kay won his place back in the side when another summer recruit Chorley suffered suspension.

Although the former Arsenal Youth Cup winner is frustrated not to be playing currently, Moore has singled him out as a shining example of how to conduct yourself while out of the side, constantly encouraging his team-mates and the manager admits that this is no time for sulkers. He said: “I keep saying to the players ‘you have to be mentally strong.

“It’s no good moping around if you’re not in the side.

“The last thing you want is them falling over their bottom lip, you’ve got to get on with it.

“If you’re in the side great, if you’re not then you have to knuckle down and do the right things.

“If you’ve got a mardy on and I say you’re playing next week, you can’t do it. You can’t turn it on hot and cold.

“You’re not mentally strong enough to do that.

“You have to be bright and be prepared to say ‘right I understand’ – especially as we’re on a run of eight games unbeaten.

“If we’d have lost the last four and not been playing then you can knock on my door and say ‘hey what’s going on’ but when we’re in the position we’re in they have to realise this is the time to come in.”

Moore added: “If you’re out of the side, you want to be coming into the side while we’re doing well, not really when you’re struggling.

“It’s not easy to get into a side while they’re playing well but it’s suspensions that open the door.

“If a player isn’t disciplined to look after himself on the park and he comes out then the door is open for another lad but you have to be right and bright to do it.”