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Ben Mee Goal Line Clearance - Reading v Burnley - You Tube

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SCOUT Phil Smith assesses Eddie Howe’s first year in charge and the potential to make the play-offs

Several readers have been in touch to request my opinion on Eddie Howe, now that he has recently celebrated a year in charge of this magnificent football club.

The question warranted a sizeable response, and thus it was unable to be answered in a short summary at the end of a regular column.

However, the lack of a midweek fixture has now provided ample opportunity to offer a suitable reflection.

Even the greatest football manager will make mistakes in the transfer market, Manucho and Mame Biram Diouf at Manchester United evidence of this point. The latter scored just once whilst at Old Trafford, typically against ourselves!

I remain adamant that we require an extra central midfielder, but, in terms of the acquisitions he has made, Howe can be pleased with his efforts. Replacing Tyrone Mears with Kieran Trippier was an absolute masterstroke, and the former Manchester City loanee could play in the Premier League right now, of that I have no doubt.

His own experience as a youth coach at Bournemouth, coupled with the appointment of Jason Blake, should see more of our own talent come through the ranks.

Bar a few obvious exceptions, we haven’t had that many make the transition from Gawthorpe to Turf Moor, and any improvement in this ratio must be encouraged.

Ultimately, however, football is a result based industry, and, as a result, a definitive assessment can only be made at the end of his tenure.

When Brian Laws was dismissed as manager, we were sat in ninth place, two points off the top six, with a game in hand.

The season concluded with us seven points away from the play-offs, and so we cannot point to an improvement in the first five months of his reign.

The current campaign began poorly, and relegation was more than an unsubstantiated concern as late into the season as November.

The frustration grew as we began to be outplayed up at the KC Stadium, but, all of sudden, David Edgar banged one in 12 minutes from time, and we went on to win the game in the most remarkable of circumstances.

A demolition of Ipswich Town and a fully deserved victory at the Boleyn Ground followed, and, by New Years Eve, we had climbed into seventh place.

We have not been any higher since, adverse weather against Derby County and Peterborough United can probably be to blame for five points, but defeats at Leeds United and Southampton were difficult to stomach.

Our Premier League Parachute payments are slashed from the start of 2012/2013,and logic dictates that when you also factor in the imminent FFP ruling, promotion will become harder as the years begin to progress.

When relegated, did anyone genuinely believe that, two years later, we would have failed to earn a play-off spot, at the very least?

Evidently, the final 14 games of the season will determine whether that is the case, but, if it becomes a reality, it cannot be classed as anything but failure.

Eddie currently enjoys a greater win percentage as Burnley manager than Owen Coyle.

I doubt he would be as arrogant to liken promotion to “leading us out of the wilderness”, but Howe will ultimately be judged on his ability to get us out of this division.

I am sure I am not alone in wishing him every success with this aim.

FIT-AGAIN striker Martin Paterson insists the class of 2012 can emulate the promotion-winning team of three years ago.

Paterson netted 19 goals - including a key strike in the play-off semi-final second leg at Reading in 2009 as the Clarets stormed into the Premier League.

Owen Coyle’s men lost only one of the last 11 regular season games, and won all three play-off matches without conceding a goal, to reach the promised land.

Three years on, Eddie Howe’s side lie four points behind Birmingham City in sixth place - who have two games in hand.

But Paterson, who returned on Friday night in the unfortunate 1-0 defeat at Reading, after missing the last five games with a hamstring injury, believes this squad can match that form in the final 14 matches.

Three of the next four games are at home - starting with Saturday’s visit of Millwall - and the 24-year-old said: “We now need to concentrate and dig in because it’s time to start putting results and runs together.

“In this league it’s possible to do that.

“When we got promoted we went on a 10-15-game run that was remarkable.

“And I this this group is capable of that.

“Everybody is fit now, there’ll be competition for places, and if we’re all pulling in the same direction, which we are, we’ve got a great chance.

“I know Junior Stanislas is yet to come back, but once he’s back I think we’ve got a full squad, and now’s the time to start a run.”

The former Stoke and Scunthorpe frontman hopes to make the most of home advantage over the next few games, with Birmingham and Crystal Palace to come following a trip to Watford: “It needs to be now rather than later.

“The next five games are crucial in my eyes. If we go on a nice five-game run now, it puts you in a really good position.”

Paterson is hoping for a bit of luck on the injury front, after missing large chunks of the last three seasons with various problems, and he said: “It’s good to be back, obviously not in the circumstances, but it’s good to be back playing again.

“We always knew the hamstring wasn’t a major problem, it was just a fatigue injury because I’d ran so much at Middlesbrough and it just tweaked, so we weree cautious coming back, and I’ve done all the work and now I feel okay.

“I came back okay and I think I’ll be the stronger for it this time, I thought I looked okay when I came on on Friday and was unlucky really not to score, but that’s the way football is, unfortunately we lost but I think the performance was good and there’s positives to take.”

Paterson’s return co-incides with that of Danny Ings, who has featured as a substitute in the last two games after suffering a serious knee injury in training before kicking a ball for the club following his August move from Bournemouth.

Paterson feels the 19-year-old has a bright future: “It’s great, Danny has great enthusiasm.

“I know the Burnley fans haven’t seen him, only for a short period, but he’s very talented.

“He’s only 19, which is brilliant for the club, but more so for himself.

“He’s fully fit, but if we can get him playing a bit more progressive, he’s a massive talent.

“I think he’s going to be the next one off the conveyor belt of strikers we have.

“Hopefully we don’t put too much pressure on him this season, but I’m sure, with the back end of this season under his belt, we’ve got a very exciting prospect on our hands.”

Howe has a nice selection headache now, with Jay Rodriguez, Charlie Austin, Paterson, Ings and Zavon Hines all competing for a slot, and Paterson added: “It’s come at the right time, we’ve got all the forwards fit and the competition heats up, which is good.

“We’ll be chomping at the bit to get into the starting line-up.

“We all want to play and score goals, so it’s excellent.”

And he feels more performances like the one at Reading will only bring victories: “I’m biased, but I watched the first 25 minutes and there was only one winner.

“They got a very lucky goal - no disrespect but it shanked off his shin - and it came from nowhere.

“They managed to see it out, but I think the lads played really well.

“I think the manager has a way he likes to play, and it’s taken a while for the players to adapt and to learn.

“But now we’ve learned it we seem to be executing it really well.

“It didn’t quite happen at Reading, but this negative will turn into a positive in the next couple of home games.”