Motherwell FC coach Askou: ‘Maswanhise a constant threat’

Motherwell FC coach Jens Berthel Askou has explained why Zimbabwean Tawanda Maswanhise is the Scottish William Hill Premiership team’s answer to the lingering questions of a finisher.

The Warriors’ Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) revelation earned Askou’s men a point with a goal on the road against Hibernian FC on Saturday to continue to red-hot form for club and country.

The coach, in a post-match interview with the Scottland’s Ardrossan Herald website, commented on the manner in which Maswanhise scored on Saturday and his overall impact to the club.

“There’s been a lot of debate and a lot of discussion, which is natural, about us needing a goalscorer,” he said.

“Throughout the season we have used him as a nine and you see he’s a constant threat in so many ways, not just running in behind but also 1v1 inside the box where he can find good positions – and today [Saturday] he got a beautiful goal.”

The Dane admitted that it will be tough keeping the AFCON star beyond this season, with potential suitors lining up to sign him.

“I think you are spot on there; it is a big thing for us. That’s the main plan, to make sure that this team gets the maximum out of this group of players, gets the maximum out of this season and then we know in the summer it’s a bigger window,” the coach added.

“So that’s the main track for us and then obviously there’s a few gaps here and there and we’ll see if we can fill them with quality like we did in the summer. There were a lot of gaps we had to fill.”

How many goals has Maswanhise scored?

The Zimbabwean scored a wonderful piece of a goal in the 52nd minute to do justice to a counterattack. However, Kieron Bowie equalized for Hibernian FC in the second-half.

Maswanhise took his league tally to 15 goals for the Fir Park side overall this season and 10 for the league from 19 games. He is the Scottish William Hill Premiership’s joint leading scorer with Lawrence Shankland, a striker for Heart of Midlothian

The 23-year-old produced sparkling displays for the Warriors at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). He scored for Mario Marinica’s side during their 2-3 loss to rivals South Africa in Morocco in a Group B match.