Out-of-favour Jake Livermore ‘still setting right example’ at West Brom
Jake Livermore is still ‘setting an example’ to his Albion team-mates on the training ground, despite a lack of playing time in recent months.
Since Carlos Corberan’s arrival at The Hawthorns, the former England international’s game time has been limited.
He started the Spaniard’s first game against Sheffield United but since then he has had to settle for just one substitute appearance in the league and three FA Cup starts.
The midfielder was last named in a matchday squad for the defeat at Burnley in January, however, Corberan has heaped praise on the former Tottenham man for his attitude in training and ‘accepting the situation’.
He said: “We know how important he has been, and how important right now he is, even though he has not been involved in the previous games. I was talking personally with him. When an important player is not involved, for me, you need to talk with the player, what is your plan and you need share your reasons.
“He accepted the situation. He can accept and not help, or he can accept and help. As a coach, you need to take the responsibilities, but he was not just accepting the situation, he was ready to help in his position.
“In the first part when I was here and it’s true that afterwards less, he was involved and played in the cup.
“He maybe since hasn’t played the number of minutes you might expect for someone like him, someone who has made such a contribution to the club with his personality and values.
“He is working excellently, but in a different way because not every player is going to be in the first XI, or even in the squad. Some players will unfortunately be out of the squad, but he is someone who is never going to give up. He is an example of how to train and how to manage these different situations.”
Livermore arrived at Albion back in January 2017 - and up until this season he has largely been a mainstay in the Baggies line-up under various managers.
His lack of first team action comes with just months left on his current deal, and asked about talks with Livermore regarding his future, Corberan said: “Being honest not yet, because we are fully focused in the situation that we are having right now.
“There are points that we need to address later, but it’s true that it’s more important to know how he is managing this period of games and we will see what happens after, for the future.”
