Girona boss Michel insists he has full confidence in Bojan Miovski coming good in La Liga but admits that the former Aberdeen star needs more time to to fit into the club’s “idea”.
The Catalonia side forked out nearly £7million to land the North Macedonia international last summer after two prolific seasons at Pittodrie where he scored 44 goals in 96 matches. Miovski was handed his debut as a late substitute in a 3-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid last month and was included from the start in a 4-0 win against Osasuna in the following game.
However, since then, the 25-year-old has struggled for minutes, and although he started in Girona’s 2-0 loss to Valencia last weekend, has been an unused substitute in four of the last five matches – missing out on a derby clash with Barcelona and in the club’s first ever Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
But Michel – who was crowned as La Liga’s Manager of the Year last season – says that the ex Aberdeen frontman has plenty to offer and hinted that he will be looking to rotate his team in the coming weeks to combat the packed schedule. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to face Celta Vigo, the 48-year old said: “He (Miovski) is training very well and he’s a player who’s doing things well.
“(Cristhian) Stuani and Abel (Ruiz) can also play in the same position, but right now we’ve decided to let others play. But that’s fine, he’s a player we have confidence in and I think he’ll give us a lot.
“Little by little he has to find his best version for our idea. Tomorrow is a game that’s yet to be played, everyone is prepared and I’m thinking about the team’s performance. After that, each player has his things to do, but the most important thing right now is the team.”
Asked about squad rotation, Michel replied: “It’s our new reality and we have to find the balance to make sure that the team is energised in every game. I think that after the last game, people are ready for tomorrow because it’s been four days, not three, and in four days I think everyone will be ready.
“Then, it’s true that we play another game on Wednesday, but we’ll think about that. The most important thing is tomorrow, everyone has trained normally today and they’re ready to play. No player is tired right now.”
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football.