'˜Genuine' Alioski praised by Leeds United boss Heckingbottom after Pride Park star turn
PAUL HECKINGBOTTOM praised Gjanni Alioski and said the Leeds United winger was guilty of 'judging himself to harshly' after Alioski ended a three-month goal drought at Derby County last night.
Alioski came off the bench to hand Leeds a 2-1 advantage with 10 minutes to go, his first strike in 13 games.
The Macedonia international had failed to find the net since November 25, when he scored against a Barnsley side managed by Heckingbottom, and he has struggled for form through the winter amid a severe downturn in United’s results.
Heckingbottom fielded him in his first game as head coach, a 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United, but dropped him immediately on the back of a poor display.
Alioski was among the substitutes at Pride Park last night but was thrown on in the second half and put Leeds on course for a badly-needed Championship win with an 80th-minute header. Derby, however, snatched a 2-2 draw with an injury-time goal from Kasey Palmer.
Heckingbottom credited Alioski for his performance, saying: “I’m pleased for him. He’s another player who’s so genuine.
“He wants to play every minute of every game, he wants to give you everything and probably beats himself up a bit, puts pressure on himself and judges himself too harshly.
“A couple of his defensive positions were superb. One, he picked up a loose ball from Derby and broke and another one, two minutes later, Derby looked in a dangerous position and he was on the edge of the box, restricting Bradley Johnson to a shot. That’s first class and that’s from a wide player.
“They’re the positions I wanted him to take up and they’re the things I want to see over and over again.”