Chris Powell hailed new Huddersfield Town loan signing Grant Holt and said: “He’s a proper centre-forward.”
The 33-year-old Wigan Athletic star made an instant impact by coming off the bench to play his part in the 2-1 Championship win over Millwall , even though his arrival wasn’t officially announced until an hour before the game.
It was only a second appearance of the campaign for the rugged player who finished last season on loan to Premier League Aston Villa.
His first was from the bench in Wigan’s Capital One Cup first-round tie at Burton Albion.
Powell, who enjoyed his first win in four attempts as Town boss, is looking forward to getting Holt up to speed over the next month.
His initial stint runs until November 8 and takes in that day’s game at Fulham.
But Powell, whose side climbed out of the bottom three with a first home win in 12 attempts and go to Wolves on Wednesday, confirmed: “If things go well for both parties, then I’m hoping to get it extended.
“Grant made a real difference against Millwall.
“We’ve been saying we wanted a striker, and we’ve got one.
“He brings cleverness and knowledge to the role. He’s a proper centre-forward and what’s more, he has a point to prove.
“And even at 33, he still has a lot of mileage left in him.”
Wigan paid Norwich City £2m for Holt in July 2013, but have played him only 22 times, with nine of those appearances from the bench.
“I thought Grant worked really hard for the time he was on the pitch,” added Powell.
“He gave us half an hour of good centre-forward play.
“Not only will he help the team, but our other strikers will learn from him.
“The supporters took to him as well, and that’s great.”
Holt said on Twitter: “Great to get 30 minutes of football. It was a great result for us, the lads worked their socks off and we deserved three points.”
Powell will make checks on skipper Lee Peltier and midfielder Jonathan Hogg, who were both forced off after taking knocks.
