SHRIMPS’ boss Jim Bentley has praised young striker Callum Lang after he scored his 10th goal of the season in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Carlisle.
Bentley said the young Wigan loanee has taken his chance with both hands and become a firm fans’ favourite at the Globe Arena.
Bentley said: “He’s getting better and better and really developed.
“He came in and was very quiet; he was an outsider looking in and, when we did drip feed him in, he missed a chance at Stevenage and one against Luton Town – but we thought that if he got a chance then he’d catch fire.
“We then played a friendly match against AFC Fylde and he missed quite a few chances.
“Then he scored with the last kick which seemed to give him a lift.
“He was full of beans so it was like going from one extreme to the other.
“I go back to a goal Tom Barkhuizen scored at Portsmouth; as soon as he scored that goal he arrived because, before, he was a little bit stop-start, he was snatching at things and didn’t have that composure.
“Now, every one-on-one he (Lang) gets, he sticks away; the players get around him and he’s a likeable lad.
“The staff and the crowd love him and, one he got that goal, he was up and running.
“Then, once he got his first goal against Coventry, he grew in stature but he’s got to learn when to put his foot in because he has picked up a couple of injuries and had some time out.”
“For a 19-year-old to have 10 goals – and the time in which he’s done it – is great,” he said.
“He’s become a fans’ favourite and they like to see him on the pitch – and to have 10 goals is fantastic for him and for us as well.”