Irvine: Brown is in a good place
GOALS in training could equal more first team football for Brown Ideye.
That's the verdict of Alan Irvine, who has been impressed with the Nigeria international's upturn in fortunes during day-to-day training sessions.
Ideye is still looking for his first Premier League goals, but his work-rate impressed Albion's backroom staff last week.
Asked whether Ideye needed a run of games, Irvine said: "He does and obviously this is a great time for him to be doing it. He’s going to get his games because of how many matches we have.
"It’s really important that he was back to where he needs to be. The signs were that he’s started scoring goals again in training on a regular basis.
"He went through a period where he couldn’t score for weeks in training.
"We play 11 v 11s but don’t necessarily play them on full size pitches, we play them on smaller pitches when chances should be more frequent and he couldn’t score. But now he is.
"He’s in a position where again it’s that little bit of sharpness and just him being quick enough to get into positions and be composed when he’s actually making that finish.
"Until you get that then you might be quick enough, but you’re not composed and it comes off you. He’s in a much better place. He just really wants a goal to come."
Both Ideye and Silvestre Varela contributed to Craig Gardner's goal against Villa last Saturday.
It was noted by Irvine.
"Brown and Silvestre were instrumental in us getting that goal," he added.
"We spent weeks working on getting more players in and around the box when we get into good positions.
"And that’s what the Arsenal game was all about that, what the Hull game was all about that, and against Villa it was all about that.
"The emphasis was on having more players making more forward runs and getting more players into the box.
"For the goal, just around where the goal actually happened, you’ve got Brown and Silvestre both challenging, right in among Brad Guzan; Sess backing it up to have the shot and Gards backing it up to have the next shot.
"So four of them in a small area and that’s how you get goals. They don’t just fall to your one player in there in amongst six of them, there’s a far greater chance if you’ve got four, five or six. We had seven players in the box in a couple of attacks at the weekend which gives you a chance of scoring."