‘Major overhaul’ on the cards as Bruce left baffled by flops
STEVE BRUCE has warned his West Brom flops that a “major overhaul” is on the cards this summer.
The Baggies boss admits he is baffled at the way the players perform against the top teams... only to let themselves down against rivals closer to them in the table.
Stoke showed more purpose, imagination and fighting spirit much to the frustration of Bruce.
He said: “We are verging on a major overhaul. We’ve got to change our mentality and be better. I see too many disappointments. We play Bournemouth or Fulham and turn them over and then we play like this.
“It’s the level of how we go up and down so quick.
“For me, this just summed up my eight weeks here.
“The table doesn’t lie and halfway in the division is not good enough.”
A Jake Livermore own goal paved the way for a Stoke win which was confirmed by second-half goals from Jacob Brown and Lewis Baker.
Albion enjoyed a brief revival through Callum Robinson.
Potters boss Michael O’Neill said: “I’m really delighted. It was a good response, a good reaction to Tuesday.
“We dealt with it well and played some really good football.
“The second gave us a good little cushion and we showed great mentality at the end.”
The first half was mainly Stoke thanks to an early breakthrough.
Tommy Smith’s free-kick found Baker whose pass was inadvertently turned into his own net by Livermore.
Albion were well below par and looking nothing like the side which had beaten both Fulham and Bournemouth in recent weeks.
Stoke made the most of it, and when Smith sent over a free-kick, there was Brown to steer home a header past Johnstone to double the lead.
Bruce threw on Robinson and Karlan Grant and was duly rewarded when Grant failed to connect to Andy Carroll’s header but the ball fell to Robinson and his finish was easy.
Finally the Baggies started to play well enough to encourage the crowd and the inevitable happened... as the visitors’ Baker appled the final blow on the break in added time.
WEST BROM: Johnstone 7; Ajayi 6, Bartley 6, Clarke 6; Gardner-Hickman 6, Livermore 6, Mowatt 6 (Robinson, (57th) 6), Molumby 7, Townsend 6 (Reach 78th); Diangana (Grant (57th) 5) Carroll 6
STOKE: Bonham 6; Forrester 6, Jagielka 7, Harwood-Bellis 7; Smith 7, Allen 6, Vrancic 6 (Wilmot 81st) Baker 8, Tymon 7; Brown 7, Fletcher 7 (Maja 75th)
STAR MAN: Lewis Baker
REF: A Davies