‘Had to do it’ – Slaven Bilic explains key West Brom decision during Newcastle defeat

Slaven Bilic has claimed that he had no option but substitute Karlan Grant when West Brom lost to Newcastle on Saturday afternoon. 

Grant was hauled off at half time after failing to impress in the opening 45 minutes against the Magpies and he was replaced by Charlie Austin.

This was a fairly radical move by Bilic as Austin was yet to feature in the Premier League this season before he came on but the Baggies boss has claimed that he had no choice after Grant’s poor performance.

Express and Star quote Bilic as saying, “It’s tough for him. He has come to a new club but he is working hard at the moment.

“I can’t say I was happy with him because I wouldn’t take him off. But I had to do it, the results are what really matters.

“He has to fight hard. At the moment he is training well. The way it is going to come and the way he is going to find form is if he continues to work hard.”

Grant has had a tough time in front of goal since he joined the club and after scoring in his second outing he hasn’t found the net since.

What’s worse is that Grant never looks like he is going to score, this could be because of his lack of service but he never seems to be in and around the box ready to pounce if the ball falls his way.

As you can see from his Wyscout heatmap, Grant is coming very deep to impact play which leaves him in the midfield on the rare occasions the Baggies break forward.

According to Wyscout, 59.5% of Grant’s attempted actions since he joined West Brom have been unsuccessful which suggests that he simply isn’t a very good footballer.

Something needs to change for the Baggies in the attack and the introduction of outcasts Austin and Kamil Grosicki seemed to improve the side’s attacking output against Newcastle.

Bilic may have to rely on his recalled attackers as it is becoming increasingly obvious that Grant isn’t the answer to Albion’s problems.

In other West Brom news, some fans have lashed out after the club tweeted some messages from Baggies players.

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