New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol has heaped praise on new signing Benny Feilhaber following his MLS debut on the weekend.
The former Derby County and AGF Aarhus midfielder played a key part in the Revs' 3-2 home win over Sporting Kansas City and his showing was not lost on former Liverpool star Nicol.
"You see the quality he has, and that fakes the opposition as well, because they don't know whether to stand off him or close him down," said Nicol after the victory.
"He made a big impact tonight.
"His fitness wasn't really our concern, it was just his sharpness," added Nicol. "He hadn't really trained all week. I had a good conversation with him on Friday, and he said he hadn't really trained all week, which, kind of takes the edge off you.
"But at the same time, when you have the qualities that he's got, then . . . we can always bring him off.
"He's smart, he's experienced, he uses the ball. He serves his legs by making the ball do all the work. So it was obvious that he was cruising, and there was no way he was coming off."
Feilhaber said he was happy with his debut performance in MLS but insists things will get better as he settles more.
"It's different," said Feilhaber of the MLS. "A higher pace, I think it's more physical. There's a lot of fouls, a lot of cards. But at the same time, I think, once I get to know the speed of the game and get more used to it, I think I'll be more effective as well here. Because of the speed of the game, you tend to have more options to find those little seams, and ball the ball to our forwards. I'll keep getting better at that.
"More and more, I think people will know what I'm about, and I'll know what they're about. The more I get to know the guys, and the more they get to know me, I'm sure we'll combine a little bit more, and be able to find those scoring chances."
