West Brom boss Steve Clarke praises squad strength
Steve Clarke today hailed Albion's strength in depth and admitted the club's late-summer signings have left him with selection headaches.
The Baggies boss is ready to turn to his shadow squad when Arsenal visit The Hawthorns tomorrow in the third round of the Capital One Cup.
But Clarke believes the arrival of five new faces in the final two weeks of summer business have left him with many options as he plots his second season at the helm.
"For me it is a big headache and I've told the players that all they can do is train well and work well and, when they get their chance, show they're ready to take it," said Clarke.
"It's nice when you turn to the bench and you've got a few different options to change the game.
"On Saturday, I was in the fortunate position where I could take off two players who had played really well.
"Nicolas Anelka and Scott Sinclair were electric in the first half – really quick and dynamic. But they had just started to go down a level in the second period and suddenly we could introduce two more players who are of a top level."
The Gunners are due at The Hawthorns tomorrow with Arsene Wenger expected to turn to his youngsters as the north London club seek to end their major trophy drought.
And Clarke is also planning changes with the likes of Diego Lugano, Graham Dorrans, Markus Rosenberg and second-round hat-trick hero Saido Berahino all standing by.
"I've got a nice squad of players who all want to play," said Clarke.
"It's up to me to get the right mix on the pitch tomorrow. I've got players who need to play and players who want to play.
"We've got a difficult trip to Old Trafford at the weekend as well so I have to make sure we get the selections right and we continue with good performances.
"Hopefully winning tomorrow night and progressing in the cup will be good for the squad because we have a big squad, so the longer you stay in the cup competitions the better."
