It hasn’t exactly been a dream start for Aleksandar Mitrovic with the Serbian striker managing to earn himself a reckless reputation after two yellow cards and a red card in 126 minutes of Premier League football, since signing from RSC Anderlecht for a reported £13 million fee during the summer.
Steve McClaren had his say on the matter in his pre-match press conference today;
“We looked at that game and we talked to a lot of people and we felt we would be wasting our time, and in hindsight looking at it, we didn’t do that.”
It’s a lesson for Mitro, it’s a lesson.
This remark came across as surprising to many people as McClaren had initially stated that the sending off was “harsh” in his post-match comments after the game against Arsenal. but clearly retracted his statement after having a closer look at the incident.
McClaren added: “I think he’s frustrated. He so desperately wants to do well, so desperately wants to score, so desperately wants to show the fans what he’s about, and his over-enthusiasm has.
It was a clumsy challenge, nothing malicious, but that over-enthusiasm has cost him dearly.
Mitrovic’s determination and passion has been clear since day one when he signed and claimed that he wanted to be a legendary figure like Alan Shearer at Newcastle but has this determination brought out the worst in the 21-year-old? Is he perhaps trying too hard?
McClaren stated: “I think all strikers are out to prove a point. Mitro was doing that in his games and proved the point too much.”
It’s clear Mitrovic wants to show the fans and the club that he’s a quality striker, but he’s failed to do so with his bad temperament so far.
