Irvine: Berahino ready to fire again

Posted Friday, December 19, 2014 by Foxsports.com

West Brom head coach Alan Irvine is expecting Saido Berahino to return to form after resting the striker.

Irvine admits the lack of firepower has hurt his team this season and he is hoping a rejuvenated Berahino can spark the side back into life,beginning against Queens Park Rangers this weekend.

The England U21 forward had caught the eye earlier this season after racking up seven goals during his first nine Premier League games, but he failed to score in six before Irvine took him out of the firing line against Hull City and Aston Villa.

Irvine said: "I just think there have been a lot of demands on a young lad and lots of attention from everybody and that all built up because of the goals he was scoring, and the way he was performing, and it's probably just taken its toll.

"Like any player he will go through spells when he is not playing so well and he went through a few weeks when he was not at the level he was before. I just felt it was time to give him a chance to recharge his batteries and I expect him to come back strongly again."

Confident

West Brom have scored just 15 goals in 16 league games this season but Irvine is confident that the 1-0 victory over Aston Villa last week can be the springboard to help them push further away from danger.

He said: "I hope that can be the turning point for us. It was nice to have got the results we have done, we obviously have to build on that.

"We've had clean sheets which are a big help. We managed to get a goal - and our problem in games has been a lack of goals.

"We clearly are aware of that - and we're doing a lot of work to try and address that. We feel that if we create enough opportunities we have players who can score.

"The players have been great all the way through. The performances have been good and I haven't had to pick them up too much. They knew some better results were just around the corner."