News

Everyone is ready to make a contribution, says Potter

Albion were unchanged when they picked up a point at Wolves, but the head coach says all of his players need to be ready to play.

By Bruce Talbot • 09 March 2020

By Paul Hazlewood
Albion head coach Graham Potter.

Graham Potter may have fielded an unchanged side in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Wolves but he insists that every member of his squad has to be ready for action in the final nine games of the season.

The head coach stuck with the team which played at home to Crystal Palace despite the 1-0 defeat and was rewarded with an impressive display at Molineux where Albion picked up a fully deserved point against a side in the top six.

Whether he makes it three games unchanged against Arsenal at the Amex on Saturday remains to be seen, but Potter is confident that whoever is chosen can play their part in Albion’s bid to climb the Premier League table.

He said: “I thought the guys who came on against Wolves made a difference and that’s important because everyone has to be ready to play and contribute.

By Paul Hazlewood
Alexis Mac Allister made an impressive debut against Wolves.

“As the game opened up you could see what Alexis Mac Allister had to offer in terms of a forward pass and his set-piece delivery was off a high level. I had to find the right time for him to come onto the pitch but he’s ready to help as are a lot of other players.

"Alireza [Jahanbakhsh] came on and stretched them as well and it was good to see the subs making a positive difference to the overall performance.

“I thought we responded well after Palace. Now it’s about the next step of turning draws into wins and narrow losses into draws so the points go in our favour, however they come.

“We respect the opposition at this level, but we feel we can be competitive against anybody and give them a game. We have to take the challenge on, we can’t fear at. The good thing is that the players want to fight for each other and I think there are a lot of really good signs for us going into another big game on Saturday.”