Kevin Wilkin praises new signing for bringing point of difference to Telford

Kevin Wilkin says new signing Michael Gyasi offers his Telford side a much-needed point of difference in attacking areas.

The 26-year-old joined on loan from Bedford Town last week on a deal until January 10, and made his debut for the Bucks during last Saturday’s 2-1 win against Spalding United at the SEAH Stadium.

Gyasi deputised as a left winger in Telford’s front three, and his new boss saw enough to be encouraged by during his 77 minutes on the pitch.

“Michael gives us something a little bit different,” Wilkin said. “Losing Charlie (Williams) meant we had to find somebody and get them into the group, and he’s come in and put in a strong performance on his debut.

“There are probably some bits and pieces within Michael’s game that I’ve seen that we need to work on, and one of those would probably be a higher level of fitness, but we’ll get some work into him over the next few weeks to try and progress that.

“He’s cup tied this weekend, but we’ll make sure we get him up to the levels of fitness that we need.

“With the ball he looked a real threat against Spalding. He’s quick, strong on the ball and he’s got an eye for goal, so hopefully he can produce that for us like he has done for other clubs.”

Those qualities were not all that caught the attention of the Telford boss, with Wilkin also highlighting Gyasi’s versatility as a factor behind him making a move for the former-Kettering man.

“I think a lot of the appeal was because he can do a bit of all sorts,” Wilkin said. “He can play centrally and he can play wide, but most importantly for me we needed to inject a little bit of pace into the group and Michael brings that.

“I know where we need to go and the kinds of players we need to bring into the group, and that certainly doesn’t end with Michael.

“We need to continue to try and improve our squad, and hopefully Michael will play a part in us growing and improving.”

Wilkin also confirmed that Telford are on the look out for more reinforcements, but would prefer to avoid any more short-term moves.

“We just need to assess exactly where we are at the moment with a few things,” he said. “Charlie’s injury looks like it is going to keep him out for a longer period than we initially thought, so he will be a big miss for us.

“We have Zak (Lilly) injured as well but hopefully he will be back in the not-too-distant future.

“At this stage I’d be a little bit reluctant to bring in any more loan players, but that’s not to say we won’t. It’s just always nice to have that little bit of wriggle room available to you should you need it.”