CRAIG Davies earned some brownie points by heading in for extra training sessions at Euxton last week – and Neil Lennon reckons his striker will see his reward on the pitch.

For so long a peripheral figure under previous boss Dougie Freedman, the combative front man is one of a few to have found his form since Lennon’s arrival.

It emerged after the 3-1 win over Brentford that Davies trained on his own during the players’ day off last Wednesday, making his long-distance strike against the Bees all the more special.

That was the Wales international’s first goal in 10 games and the first by any striker in Lennon’s time at the Macron Stadium.

And the manager reiterated why he felt Davies deserved to break his duck.

“Craig works hard at his game and I was delighted he got his goal,” he told The Bolton News. “When you do things like that, it’s an end product to all the hard work.

“I admire that about him – and it will stand him in good stead for the rest of his career. His attitude has been fantastic.

“He’s had to be a little bit patient and he took his goal really well, if you see the goal again he had to readjust his feet before he finishes it then show the calmness and composure to put it in the net from distance.”

The 28-year-old has started in 10 of 17 games for the Whites this term and failed to feature in just two – a far cry from the tail end of last season when he was in and out of the side at Preston North End during an up-and-down loan spell in League One.

Davies is one of a handful of players enjoying a renaissance but Lennon has also been handed a boost by the return of a number of injured players this week.

Medo Kamara, David Wheater and Liam Trotter continued on the road to full recovery with a run-out for the development squad on Monday against Derby County.

Although tonight’s game against Norwich will come too soon for Wheater, who has been out for several weeks with a back injury, both Medo and Trotter are pressing hard for a recall to the first team.

And with others finding their feet in the senior ranks, Lennon is impressed at the options available.

“I wanted these guys to get some football into them and also look at them in a match situation. I was quite pleased with what I saw,” the manager said.

“The beauty of coming in is that it’s a fresh start for everyone.

“I’ve been pretty impressed with the attitude they have shown. It’s almost like looking at them as new players, in the kind of form they were in six months a year ago.”