Tilson : Carayol could rip the division apart

Steve Tilson has given high praise to winger Mustapha Carayol by stating that the Gambian could rip the division apart if he got his fitness levels up. This came as he proved to be one of the main differences in a poor match against Oxford on Tuesday night.

Carayol has found his starting opportunities very limited recently. He was out injured for some time before returning as a substitute a few weeks ago, however, he has failed to start a game since, with central midfielder Luke Howell being prefered on the right wing. Carayol was again left on the bench for last night's win over Oxford, however, an early injury to Howell meant Carayol played for most of the game and he had one of his better games in a Lincoln shirt, setting up two goals (both own goals) and it was a performance that brought praise from Steve Tilson.

"He was out for a while and I spoke to him after the game because I still feel he needs to get fitter," Tilson told the Lincolnshire Echo. "He has got so much ability and if he is fully fit he can rip this league up. Mustapha has come on and has been a pain in the backside for the two full-backs and helped create two goals. He's had a good night, but he just needs a bit of consistency and he needs to be a bit fitter. A good pre-season behind him will help with that."

It was only towards the end of last season that Carayol became a major part of Torquay's bid to stay up after many inconsistent performances for the Gulls. His performance against the Imps towards the end of the season encouraged Chris Sutton to send scouts to watch him on a more regular basis, three goals in the final five games convinced Sutton to sign him permanently.