Albion boss Alan Irvine: Brown Ideye is ready to fire
Alan Irvine claims Albion's £10m man Brown Ideye is no longer a 'rabbit in the headlights' and is backing the Nigerian to make the most of his fresh start at The Hawthorns.
Ideye was expected to keep his place in Irvine's team at QPR this afternoon, for what would be just his fourth Premier League start since his summer move from Dynamo Kiev.
Irvine admits the striker's introduction to the first team was far less gradual than he would have liked and had previously described him as a 'rabbit in the headlights'.
But having now had a few months to adapt, the head coach believes the frontman is ready to prove his worth.
"He's been through a spell where he looked as if he had no energy whatsoever and couldn't move," said Irvine. "He looked as if he had no confidence and no sharpness in front of goal.
"In recent weeks he's been scoring goals in the training practices. He's had the energy to stay behind to do extra finishing afterwards which he just didn't have for a while.
"He was crawling off the training ground. Now he's in much better condition physically which helps him to be in better condition mentally.
"I didn't want to put him into the team as early as we did but that happened because of injury. It was clear that that was a bit unfair on him because he wasn't ready."
The fee involved in his switch to England means Ideye's progress is always going to be under scrutiny.
But Irvine does not believe the pressure of being the club's record signing has weighed heavily on striker's shoulders.
"I think it's just been the circumstances really," he said. "The price-tag's been an extra stick to beat him with at times when things were difficult. I don't think he's really over concerned about that. He just wants to get out and play and play well."
Irvine admits only time will tell whether Ideye was worth the fee, adding: "You're never 100 per cent sure if a player is going to fit in exactly as you want.
"You can probably think of examples of players who cost a lot more money and in the end it didn't work out at the clubs they came to and yet they've gone elsewhere and been extremely successful.
"Sometimes these things work out and sometimes they don't. We can only judge that during the fullness of time."
