TRINIDAD and Tobago coach Leo Beenhakker ran the rule over Ricky Shakes at the County Ground on Saturday just seven days after the youngster had made the plea to be spied on by his country.
The Trinidad boss was among the spectators for the Seasiders clash and saw Shakes add a little extra spark to Town’s performance when it was badly needed.
Manager Iffy Onuora admitted that it had been a ‘close call’ as to whether Shakes started or not but that he felt made the most of his half-hour outing, the player replacing Neale McDermott.
He said: “Shakesy came on and did well.”
Deputy chairman Mark Devlin confirmed that Beenhakker had been at the ground, a fact he only confirmed after a friend pointed out that someone in the crowd ‘looked like’ the Trinidad coach.
He said: “I went downstairs to look at the list of those who had asked for tickets and there he was.
“Hopefully he was impressed with what he saw of Ricky.”
Beenhakker was one of 5,766 spectators for a match that saw Town reduce ticket prices on a Saturday that traditionally sees poor attendances up and down the country.
Although the gate fell just short of the six thousand Devlin had been hoping for, he said the directors still felt encouraged by the response/turnout.
He said: “I think we had anticipated something around 4,500 to 4,800 had we not had some kind of incentive so it was quite pleasing to almost hit the 6,000 mark.
“It gives us food for thought in terms repeating the exercise later in the season and I believe it is worth repeating.
“It’s something to sit down and talk about as a board of directors.”