Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle ‘loves’ watching Daniel Sturridge play

EPL : John Heitinga – Daniel Sturridge, Bolton Wanderers v Everton(Getty Images)

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Owen Coyle has praised the impact Daniel Sturridge has made since joining Bolton Wanderers and has said  he ‘loves’ having the player at the club.

The Chelsea striker has proved to be a shrewd acquisition since arriving at the Reebok Stadium in January on loan after scoring four goals in his four appearances for the Trotters.

Coyle has revealed his delight at the capture of the 21 year-old and admits he is a player who he ‘loves watching.’

“First and foremost he is a natural footballer and a terrific goalscorer, but for me he is more than that,” Coyle told reporters.

“He has pace, is tricky, is comfortable with both feet, and he is an exciting player.

“He receives the ball and you think ‘You know what? Something is going to happen,’ which as a manager is great.

“Even as a fan he is the type of player I love watching because all of a sudden you are out of your seat and you are thinking something special could happen.

“He is prepared to go and take people on, which I love as well, and he has just been a terrific acquisition for the club.”

After a great start to his Bolton career Coyle has now called for the striker to continue to develop and keep scoring goals.

He sadi: “Ultimately Daniel has to continue to keep moving forward, he has to keep progressing, to keep being hungry for the goals, and hungry to improve as a footballer.

“He will know himself there are little bits and pieces where he can improve, and hopefully we can help him achieve that goal.”

The Bolton boss has already spoken of his desire to sign Sturridge on a permanent deal but insists that he is happy to have the player at all.

He continued: “I’m enjoying having Daniel at the club, and my focus between now and the end of the season is to help him to realise his potential, and in doing that he is obviously going to help us.

“For me it was always going to be a win-win situation, that Chelsea would get back a player who has had the opportunity to play week in and week out in the league.

“I get a striker who is hungry and will score goals, and the club benefit from such a young and exciting player.”

With Bolton currently on the outskirts of European qualification in the Premier League table Coyle claims he will not be distracted by the prospect of a top six finish, insisting that his only target is to pick up as many points as possible in the remaining fixtures.

“My focus is simply on one game to the next,” he said.

“We suffered a dip in January when we were decimated in terms of numbers, so we know how quickly things can change.

“So we’re simply trying to obtain as many points as we can, and then at the end of the season looking at the table, seeing where we have finished.”

“It’s all hypothetical at the moment, and I only deal in facts.”