West Brom boss James Shan has said that he hopes the “big threat” provided by striker Jay Rodriguez will have an impact on Tuesday’s match against Aston Villa.
The Baggies are 2-1 down heading into the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final, with striker and first leg goalscorer Dwight Gayle suspended for Tuesday’s clash after being sent off at Villa Park.
According to Shan, however, Rodriguez is good enough to provide a significant goal threat amid the absences of Gayle and Hal Robson-Kanu, who is also suspended.
“[Gayle] is a massive player for us but Jay [Rodriguez] has been very productive and hasn’t played an awful lot of minutes this season in central areas,” the interim boss told the Birmingham Mail.
“So it gives Jay the opportunity to get a more central role, and he can be a big threat from there. And it presents opportunities for other people.
“We’ve got a big squad and a squad of high quality and the players play with a mentality that they’re waiting for their opportunity. So the opportunity will be presented for one individual.”
OPINION
Now really is the time for Jay Rodriguez to step up to the plate for West Brom again. The forward has already netted 22 goals in the Championship this term, so he is no stranger to finding the goal. But it is whether he can do it from a central area because, as Shan says, there haven’t been many occasions on which the 29-year-old has played from there. He’s not needed to, that’s why. Gayle has been magnificent and has scored two more in the Championship than his fellow attacker, so he will be a huge miss for the Baggies on Tuesday. Rodriguez and Gayle have backed each other up this term, forming a deadly strike partnership that has propelled West Brom into the play-offs. But without Gayle, Rodriguez will need to do it alone and it is a big task for him. They are 2-1 down, but based on the striker’s figures for the season so far, there’s no reason why Rodriguez cannot impress at the Hawthorns on Tuesday.