Squad will do legwork says Bruce
STEVE Bruce is eager to get more minutes into his players’ legs and has organised an intersquad friendly at Albion’s training ground tomorrow.
The Baggies squad flew back from Portugal yesterday after 22 different players got a run-out in their first pre-season friendly of the summer, a narrow 2-1 win over Leyton Orient in the Algarve
Albion continue their build-up to the new season with Saturday’s trip to Stevenage, followed by visits to Northampton, Crewe and Oxford before Hertha Berlin visit The Hawthorns.
Before anything else, though, Bruce will oversee another friendly match between his squad at their Walsall base.
“The major thing was getting everyone through (against Orient) and now we get into the more serious stuff,’’ said the manager.
“We will have an in-house game on Thursday where some of them will play an hour.
“The one thing about the two new lads (John Swift and Jed Wallace), it’s about helping them settle in and get to know the other players. They are quality players in the Championship. They can only add experience and know-how to us, they are going to be fine.
“Everybody found it difficult (against Orient) because they have worked that hard. We’ll be better on Thursday. We’ll be better on Saturday and that’s the aim.
“Everybody has come through, which is crucial in the first ten days, people like Dike and Zohore. They have dug deep, now we just have to play a bit better football.
“We scored a hideous own goal but, up until then, I thought Cedric played very well. It was first time I’ve seen him play and he reminded me what a good player he is.’’
And Wallace has promised West Brom ‘won’t fall short on effort’ in their attempts to make it second time lucky in securing a return to the Premier League.
Having spent six years at Millwall, Wallace was keen to make the switch to a side he feels can be a Premier League outfit again next year.
By clinching promotion, the 28-year-old would fulfil a career-long ambition of playing in England’s top flight.
“When you look at the club over the last 15 years, certainly in my life-time, they’ve always been at the top of this league, if not the league above,” Wallace said. “That aligns with where I want to play. I think it’s a huge show of intent for them to bring Swifty in, who I know (from Portsmouth). That’s a very impressive signing.”