Beleaguered Baggies boss eyes Bart boost
VALERIEN Ismael hopes to have Kyle Bartley back in time for West Brom’s meeting with Peterborough on Saturday after the defender missed the defeat at QPR.
Bartley limped through the closing stages of the FA Cup tie with Brighton last week after taking a kick to the ankle and was one of five centrehalves to miss Saturday’s trip to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
Cedric Kipre will return to the squad after completing his onematch suspension, but Bartley’s swift recovery would be another fillip to Ismael as he seeks to have a fullstrength squad for the remainder of the Championship season.
Bartley will need minutes in training this week to be considered but Ismael is optimistic that can happen.
“We hope he comes back next week. Normally the injury is seven to 10 days so we hope he comes back next week to have another possibility,” said the head coach.
“Cedric Kipre will be back, but it’s not enough, we need every player, a strong team and a strong bench, and when you have that you can compete in a top game like that with the best XI, but at the minute we have to find solutions.”
QPR striker Charlie Austin’s winner at the death condemned Albion to their sixth defeat of the season – all of them have come on the road, and all of them since October.
It’s not just the defeats, though; Albion have scored THREE goals away from The Hawthorns in their last nine games, and two of those came in their only win on the road in that time – at Coventry before Christmas.
The visit to the capital to take on a side who were directly beneath them in the league table was an opportunity to both address that dreadful form and directly hamper the promotion hopes of a rival. Instead it was they who suffered.
Ismael reiterated his desire and need to possess as strong a hand as he possibly can in terms of personnel.
“I agree, we are not able at the minute to win games, to score goals and have an impact on the performance on the game when we are on top – to punish the opponent,” he admitted. “But the main problem is we don’t have the best team to pick.
“You prepare all week, you try and find a solution and then it’s another one and another one. It’s easier at the beginning when we played with all the players to just focus on the games and what we have to do. There is a big challenge at the minute.”