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McManus: No prizes for bravery

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Stephen McManus ought to know that no medals, or contracts are handed out in football for bravery.
Over the last two years his performances have dipped alongside his fitness, there’s little doubt that it’s been a long time since he’s enjoyed full fitness.
Playing through the pain barrier is a mugs game on two fronts- it aggravates injuries and effects form with McManus the perfect example.
Various injuries prevented the centre half from building on the early successes of his Celtic career which earned him the club captaincy.
After missing out on the start of the season at Celtic he moved on loan to Middlesbrough in January where he has so far made nine appearances.
Automatic promotion is a write-off for Gordon Strachan’s side but the play-off’s remain a realistic target for a dozen inconsistent Championship sides.
Beating Preston at the Riverside tomorrow night is essential if ‘Boro are to build any momentum with Mick typically anxious to be involved after missing Saturday’s draw with Reading.
“He was desperate to play,” ‘Boro coach Colin Copper admitted. “But the gaffer took a look at him and felt it was too much of a risk.
“You’ve got to be able to keep going for 90 minutes but Mick clearly wasn’t well.
“We’ll hope that it is just a 24-hour thing. We will see how he goes in training.”
 Football is littered with players who felt that they could play through injuries, and also littered with those that call off injured at the slightest knock.
There are examples everywhere of players who thought that they knew best or did it for the team only to find themselves eventually discarded or sidelined.
Whether his future is at Celtic or elsewhere the remaining months of the season should be about regaining form and confidence for Mick- he’s did enough soldiering on for the cause and has nothing to prove to anyone in terms of bravery.
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