Portsmouth coach Steve Cotterill believes the improvement in former Warriors skipper Benjani Mwaruwari has now given him some serious attacking options.
The Pompey boss handed the Zimbabwean a first start since his return to the English Championship football club in the 4-3 loss at West Ham over the weekend and the 33-year-old, who has been way short of match fitness after joining on a free transfer, looked back to his old self with a performance full of energy and commitment.
Benjani also thought he had netted his first goal for the club since his comeback, only for David Norris’ header to have been ruled to have already crossed the line before the forward made absolutely sure from close range.
But Cotterill was impressed with the striker’s all-round contribution.
He said: “I thought Benjani was great. “We haven’t worked him hard to get him fit – he’s worked very hard on himself to get fitter because he knew he needed to do that.
“He was very committed and I thought he was excellent. I’m really, really happy with him and, hopefully, he’s going to get better and better.” Benjani certainly brings an extra dimension with his added work-rate.
But he will know himself that he needs his first goal to come along sooner rather than later.
