Graham Potter is delighted with the progress Tariq Lamptey is making after his eye-catching performance in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Watford.
The 21-year-old was among several stand-out Albion players at Vicarage Road and his coach believes his contributions have got steadily better since he returned after ten months out with a serious hamstring injury at the end of September. It was his 16th Premier League appearance of the season.
Potter said, “You look at things like the injury he had at his age and also that it’s very difficult to play at that top level every week, but he always contributes. Some days he will be more eye-catching than others but I thought on Saturday he was excellent.
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“He defended well, kept the ball when he had to and was positive all the time. I am really pleased with him.
“The challenges and tackles he goes into aren’t a worry. We have built him up in terms of his minutes and I am sure our supporters would want him on the pitch longer but they have to understand he’s had a terrible injury but he’s getting stronger and better. He’s not played a lot so we’re really excited about him going forward.”
Saturday’s seventh win of the season extended Albion’s unbeaten run to seven games – a Premier League record – and leaves them seven points behind tomorrow’s opponents Manchester United.
Asked about the possibility that his side could mount a late challenge for a European place, Potter urged caution.
“It says a lot that all of a sudden we’re spoken about as a competitor of Manchester United’s but the reality of both clubs is very different,” he added. “They have got a squad of world-class players but we will go there, try and play our football as we want to play and if we act as we did on Saturday then we give ourselves a chance.”