Enrique earns Keegan praise
04 Apr 2008 - 09:03:26
Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan believes that Spanish left-back Jose Enrique is finally starting to reach top form after a tough first season on Tyneside.
The 22-year-old joined the Magpies from Villarreal last summer and struggled to make his mark under Sam Allardyce, but he has emerged as a first-team regular since the turn of the year.
Keegan said: "Jose is improving with every game. It has taken him a little while to adapt.
"We have had a couple of meetings with his brother about what he has to do to improve.
"His brother speaks good English and when Jose was out of the team, he was more or less asking 'what does he need to do to get back into the team?'.
"Whatever you are seeing now, it will be another 50 per cent once he has got a pre-season with us under his belt and has not been interrupted like he was last year.
"Apparently, he did not have a full pre-season and that is vitally important for players. Players who miss any part of pre-season usually suffer somewhere in a season.
"His focus is now better. There is still improvement in him, but he has got a lot of qualities.
"He has a lovely left foot and he has a maturity about him at times that belies his age. He is still a very young player."