Gareth McAuley the man to lead West Brom's survival battle
Pepe Mel today hailed Gareth McAuley as the ideal man to captain Albion in their crucial survival battles – as youngster Donervorn Daniels was placed on first-team alert.
McAuley will skipper the Baggies against Hull tomorrow and Cardiff next week while vice-captain Jonas Olsson serves a two-match suspension.
Captain Chris Brunt is out injured but Mel believes he has an ideal leader in McAuley.
"It's easy for me," said Mel. "The captain is McAuley. "He's calm, he's a good professional, he thinks on the pitch, and he's always next to the referee! Of course, for the young players a good professional is the best example and McAuley is a good player and a good professional every day ."
Meanwhile, 20-year-old academy product Daniels could join his under-21s team-mate Liam O'Neil among the substitutes at Hull as Mel continues to deal with injury problems.
Albion are likely to revert to a back four because of Olsson's ban, with Billy Jones and Morgan Amalfitano both still doubtful with hamstring problems. That leaves Mel lackingn alternatives at wing-back, meaning he is unlikely to be able to move Steven Reid or Liam Ridgewell to centre-back in order to stick with the 3-5-1-1 formation that worked at Swansea last week.
