Carlos Corberan reveals why he cancelled private Tom Rogic chat at West Brom
Carlos Corberan was planning to speak to Tom Rogic about his World Cup snub, but the Spaniard decided against it after seeing him in West Brom training.
Rogic was cruelly left out of Australia’s 26-man World Cup squad this winter, with his form at West Brom deemed not good enough by manager Graham Arnold.
The 29-year-old swapped Celtic for West Brom in the summer but didn’t hit the ground running under Steve Bruce. After witnessing Rogic’s World Cup snub, new Baggies boss Corberan thought about speaking to Rogic about it.
However, after watching Rogic’s reaction in training first-hand, the Spaniard decided against pulling the central midfielder for a chat.
“He was one of the players who had the opportunity to go to the World Cup with his country, with Australia,” Corberan explained, as quoted by Birmingham Live.
“In the end, he didn’t go, but this made an impact in the mentality and the motivation of the player.
“The next day after Australia showed their team list, I was thinking about having a conversation with him, to motivate him to work towards the option that he had – but I didn’t have to. In the first training session that I watched he was enjoying the situation, and he was training with more ambition and with a stronger mentality to face the difficulties of this moment.
Sink or swim
Missing out on what was potentially Rogic’s last chance to play in the World Cup would have been a massive blow for the West Brom ace.
After it was revealed that he wouldn’t be travelling to Qatar, Rogic faced a choice – sink or swim. Corberan was understandably concerned that the news could sink his morale and motivation, but Rogic clearly used it as fuel to improve.
His performances have notably improved as well, with his Sunderland showing on Monday night arguably his best ever in a West Brom shirt.
He scored the equaliser for the Baggies and dominated midfield to give fans a glimpse at his true potential. Having impressed Corberan in training and on the pitch, hopefully, he’s given plenty more opportunities to shine in the second half of the season.
The Albion only sit eight points off the playoff places after beating the Black Cats and while Rogic will still be devastated about not making the World Cup squad, he can now set his sights on promotion this season.
In other West Brom news, Carlos Corberan shares his Twitter reaction after beating Sunderland on Monday night