‘Right call’ – Exclusive: Phillips backs Bilic team selection for West Brom v Newcastle
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has defended Slaven Bilic’s decision to make nine changes to the West Brom starting line-up ahead of their FA Cup defeat to Newcastle United on Tuesday night.
Albion were 3-0 down by the 47th minute but impressed for most of the second half as they managed to score twice to make the scoreline more respectable against an out-of-form Premier League club.
There has been a lot of debate among West Brom fans about whether Bilic should have named a full-strength side for the clash against Newcastle, even though it came just days after a defeat to Wigan when some of the key players seemed tired.
However, Phillips is adamant that players like Filip Krovinovic needed a rest with promotion from the Championship being the top priority at The Hawthorns this season.
“With Krovinovic, we all know the league is more important. They need everyone fully fit for that,” Phillips told West Brom News when asked if the Croatian should have started against Newcastle.
“Putting him on at that stage was probably the right thing to get him 20-30 minutes and get him ready for the weekend if you start him there.
“I don’t think it was a mistake [to not start him]. I think it was the right call to make that number of changes.”
“You’re always going to get some supporters who will moan but I think the majority will back Slaven saying the league is a priority.
“Of course, you’d love to get into the quarter-finals of the cup but getting to the Premier League is the be-all and end-all.
“They nearly did it against Newcastle with a side that hasn’t played a lot of football and hasn’t played together much so you have to give them credit.”
West Brom had reached the fifth-round of the FA Cup by playing a team similar to the one that lost to Newcastle on Tuesday.
That team of second-string players won 1-0 away against West Ham so why wouldn’t they have been expected to beat Newcastle?
As Phillips says, they almost did it but one or two fewer changes might have been all it took to make the difference.
Anyway, the FA Cup is over now for West Brom for another season and at least there’s going to be full focus on the Championship from now on.
In other West Brom news, Darren Fletcher has criticised Albion fans for the poor atmosphere at The Hawthorns on Tuesday.