And Markus is looking forward to derby day
MARKUS Rosenberg insists he has more to offer Steve Clarke’s side ahead of Sunday’s derby-day clash at Villa (ko 4pm).
The Sweden international made his full home debut in Albion’s 2-1 Capital One Cup third-round defeat to Liverpool at The Hawthorns on Wednesday.
Rosenberg arrived at The Hawthorns in August on a Bosman, having not trained with a team in seven weeks after exiting Euro 2012 on June 19.
And the former Werder Bremen striker, who turned 30 yesterday, believes his performances will continue to improve as he gains more game time.
“I enjoyed it and that’s what I needed,” said Rosenberg.
“I have trained a lot but I have not played as much so I really needed 90 minutes and I got it.
“That was positive but the result of the game was not so positive.
“It feels better and better but you can still see that the last pass is not there.
“There were too many times when I lost the ball, but it’s getting better and better and I think in the second half I came into it better.
“I started well in the first 15 minutes, then I came into the middle and the whole team lost their game, including me.
“Then in the second half it was more 50/50."
Rosenberg gained experience of intense local rivalries during his time at Werder Bremen, whose matches with Hamburg, known as the Nordderby, are renowned for their hostility.
And the 6ft attacker is excited by the prospect of playing in his first West Midlands derby as Albion and Villa meet for the 159th time in all competitions.
He added: “The players have told me it’s good.
“They say the biggest derby is Wolves but now it’s only West Brom and Villa in the Premier League and it’s going to be great.
“We had derbies in Germany and there were three teams there, so there was a lot of competition between Hanover, Hamburg and Werder Bremen.
“Most of the time we won against Hamburg, which is the biggest derby there.
“It’s eight years since I played in Sweden but there we had Malmo against Helsingborgs, which is the biggest derby there.”