Kevin Campbell: West Brom players were ‘having battles’ with each other under Steve Bruce
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Campbell has gone against Darren Carter’s defence of Steve Bruce and insisted West Brom were right to sack him amid player “battles”.
West Brom sacked Steve Bruce back in October after the Baggies slumped into the relegation zone following a terrible start to the season.
Carter – who spent two seasons with West Brom between 2005 and 2007 – claimed the club should have kept patience with Bruce, insisting “he would have got it right eventually”. [Baggies Broadcast, 1 Dec]
Campbell played alongside Carter during his time at The Hawthorns and gave a strong response when asked if he agreed with his former teammate’s opinion on Bruce.
Speaking exclusively to West Brom News, Campbell said: “No, I don’t. That is Carter’s opinion, which is fine.
“But I just think when you look at what West Bromwich Albion have in their squad and then you look at the results and where they were – things weren’t looking good.
“There was division, there were players having battles with other players. There were players getting pelters from the fans.
“Now they’ve won a few games and you see a bit of confidence start to come back.
“Unfortunately, it just wasn’t happening under Steve Bruce. Sometimes it’s a fit and sometimes it’s not. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a fit for Steve Bruce.“
Campbell clearly backs the club’s decision to sack Bruce, and so far Carlos Corberan is proving him right. The Spaniard has had an immediate impact in the West Midlands and lifted Albion outside of the relegation zone.
Bruce simply lost the trust of the dressing room and the fans, and the support of hte board quickly deteriorated afterwards.
It was a poorly made match and if anything the board are probably kicking themselves for not taking action earlier on in the season.
In other West Brom news, Kenneth Zohore was caught in a bizarre substitution mess as West Brom lost their friendly against Elche in Spain