McGhee delighted with Clarkson’s improvement

Jan 21 2009 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

McGhee delighted with Clarkson’s improvement

WITH speculation continuing over the future of Motherwell striker Chris Porter, manager Mark McGhee will be relieved that no one has so far come in for his other star forward, David Clarkson.

The 23-year-old has been back to his best in recent weeks and scored a superb goal against Dundee United at the weekend.

His form over the past 18 months has seen him become a regular in the Scotland set-up.

McGhee said: “People have probably made their minds up about David but I don’t think they’ve looked closely enough and seen the improvement in him.

“His body shape and the way he moves is better. David looks more of an athlete – bigger and quicker.”

He continued: “When I came here, I looked at some stats and watched Motherwell games on DVD. In one match, David had more touches than anyone else but gave the ball away 74 per cent of the time.

“I thought ‘that can’t be right.’ so I worked on him retaining possession and he took it on board.

“David now has an international cap and is a different animal.”

Meanwhile Clarkson himself has admitted it would be a big blow to the Fir Park outfit if they were to lose his strike partner Chris Porter.

The former Oldham forward put in another man-of-the-match display against Dundee United on Sunday in front of scouts from Sheffield United and Sunderland.

The target man has already rejected a move to Huddersfield in the January transfer window.

Clarkson said: “Chris has shown what kind of player he can be and you can see why there is interest in him.

“He got another goal against Dundee United, and I thought he was magnificent.”

“Obviously Motherwell will try to keep a hold of him but whether we can, who knows.”