Brown Ideye is pushing for starting spot with Albion
Albion boss Alan Irvine says record signing Brown Ideye is edging closer to a third Premier League start after a frustrating first five months at The Hawthorns.
Ideye has started just twice in the league and is yet to find the net with reports from the training ground suggesting the £10m striker had struggled to make an impact.
But Irvine says the Nigeria international has made encouraging strides in recent sessions.
"He's actually trained the best he has trained in the last couple of weeks," said Irvine.
"That's not in terms of his application, which has always been good, but in terms of his effectiveness.
"So he's certainly looking more like what we would hope he would look. He has scored goals in training.
"There was a time when he was struggling to do that. And I think he is feeling a lot better about himself."
Ideye hit form yesterday in a 5-2 win over Northampton in a behind-closed-doors friendly. The striker bagged two goals while Kemar Roofe (2) and Adil Nabi also scored in the rout.
Irvine hinted Brown was a contender to start at the KC Stadium on Saturday before Victor Anichebe was passed fit. Saido Berahino was left out for the first time this season and Irvine considered both the leading scorer and Ideye in case Anichebe failed to shake off his groin problem.
"I couldn't pick the team until Saturday morning because of wanting to find out if Victor was available or not," said Irvine.
"I spoke to Saido once I had made my decision and he was very good about it, as I'd expect him to be.
"I had thoughts of perhaps using both of them (Ideye and Berahino) and I had thoughts of either one of them. I had a couple of hours to make a final decision. But lots of different possibilities and options were going through my head."
