Joseph Masi and Luke Hatfield discussed all of the latest West Bromwich Albion news on the most recent edition of The Express and Star’s Baggies Broadcast podcast, during which Masi spent some time talking about Sam Allardyce’s concern with regard to the amount of time he’s able to spend with his players on the training ground.
Allardyce took the reins at Albion last week following the sacking of Slaven Bilic and in his first game as Baggies boss, he saw his side suffer a 3-0 defeat to bitter rivals Aston Villa.
Following that loss, West Brom have a full week to prepare to get back to Premier League action versus the 2019/20 top-flight champions Liverpool, with that game set to take place on Sunday, but during this podcast, Masi revealed that Allardyce is “concerned” about Albion’s fixture schedule, revealing that although the new West Brom manager believes he’s going to get it right at The Hawthorns, he is worried about how long it will take him to do so, due to the amount of time he’s currently able to spend with his players on the training ground.
The journalist said: “He said that wherever him and Sammy Lee have gone, they’ve got it right. He is slightly concerned it’s going to take him a little bit longer this time around because of the schedule and the fact there’s been no pre-season and the fact – obviously, the schedule’s a bit more congested over Christmas.
“He said that, effectively, he’s getting next to no time with the players on the training ground – the sports science department are telling him you have to be careful with the players because they’re at risk of injury – so he’s a little bit concerned that he’s not going to get as much time as he wants on the training ground as quickly as he wants.”
Do you think Allardyce will keep West Brom up?
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TIF Thoughts on what Masi revealed about Allardyce’s concern…
Allardyce is a renowned survival specialist and at each of the last three clubs he’s been before taking charge of West Brom, he’s become the manager with the season already underway.
With that in mind, you might think that he has got enough expertise to get it right at West Brom despite the challenges that a congested fixture schedule may present.
However, perhaps it will come as a concern to West Brom fans that even Allardyce seems to have some reservations about whether or not he’ll be able to get the job done at the Premier League’s second-from-bottom side, with Masi revealing the manager’s training worries.
It will be interesting to see if Allardyce does end up having a noticeable impact on Albion’s on-pitch performance quickly or if his concerns prove to be justified.