Carlos Corberan on Devante Cole 'regret' and the challenge for West Brom's fringe players
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan green lighted a host of transfers put to him in the summer but not many of them have made a significant impact yet
Carlos Corberan has admitted that he has a little regret for not utilising West Bromwich Albion striker Devante Cole a little more up to now. Cole joined the club on a free transfer in the summer to complement the centre forward options of Josh Maja and the returning Daryl Dike, who ought to be available to Corberan in the coming weeks.
Cole, 29, scored 18 goals for League One Barnsley last season and 16 goals the campaign prior to that, but he hasn't made a league appearance for Albion since a cameo run-out at Queens Park Rangers on the opening game of the season. Cole also featured in the EFL Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town, in which he set up Mo Faal's opening goal.
Since, the only minutes he has been exposed to have been in the club's under 21s; Cole scored twice in the rout over Stoke City and also appeared against Chelsea under 21s. Since, he has been in but mostly out of the match-day squad and was absent again at Oxford United on Saturday.
At a time when Dike is still unavailable and Corberan is conscious of the need to conserve Maja's energy as best as possible amid a testing schedule, the Spaniard concedes he might've handed Cole more minutes before now having otherwise relied on natural wingers to fill the void when Maja departs.
"We have Cole as another specific striker and he can play with Maja too, but it's true that in the decisions I am making he has been more times not involved with the team than involved," he told BBC WM. "It's true that he didn't make his full debut.
"There have been possibilities to do this before and probably this is something I can regret, that I haven't used him more. At the same time, when you need to pick 20 players, from 25, five aren't going to be involved. For sure they have things they can add to the team."
The deep dive into the lesser spotted fringe players
Albion were busy in the summer, but only a handful of those imports have impacted the starting XI; Uros Racic has come into the side more regularly recently, while Torbjorn Heggem at left-back has been a constant. Mikey Johnston has one start upon his return, so too does Ousmane Diakite. Otherwise, the likes of Cole, Mason Holgate, Paddy McNair, Lewis Dobbin, Gianluca Frabotta and Callum Styles.
"When you are part of a team you need to know there are different possibilities," Corberan says. "You are playing as a starter and you have to work hard to stay as that. There are those starting on the bench. Some of these players don't play because you have a maximum of five subs, they need to work hard to get minutes and show they can help the team.
"After you have players who are not involved. We have 25 players here. Twenty-five players that as a club we like.There is no players we don't like as a club. Me as a coach - nobody told me you don't have to have them. Every single player here, according to our possibilities, is a good option for us and I have agreed on this.
"I have 25 players, 22 outfield and three goalkeepers. Of these 25 I can involve 20, so five players I like are out of the squad. I can play a maximum 16. So four I like are with five who aren't playing. Nine players you cannot use.
"If you ask me what I would like? To have these 25 players involved, on the bench and then put them on according to the game possibilities. When you cannot do this you have to make a decision before games. You could decide to keep the group - like at the start of the season you keep the first 11 for many games in a row. We kept the bench, more or less.
"To make a change in the attacking part of the team is a need for me during the game. Changing a centre-back during the game is not a need. Normally the physical values of a centre-back are different to that of a winger. So to change the front four of the team is more normal, than the need to change the back.
"Can you change the back of the team? Yes, but we didn't do it many times because I didn't think we had the need. We put Styles in against Middlesbrough. Styles I like a lot as a player, the problem for Styles is I like Heggem a lot as a player. I like Paddy McNair as a centre-back but I am watching our two centre-backs very stable doing well in the things they are doing.
"With the need to improve, but I am seeing a couple with a lot of stability so far, and Furlong the same. I am probably giving consistency because I like what I'm seeing from these players.
"Does it mean Paddy can give similar or better things? For sure. Every case is different. Paddy is new to the club, without pre-season. when he arrived he had a knee problem, and then in the start of the competition the line of four was giving a good consistency.
"We have been close to achieving the results we have been talking about (Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford) and part of the stability is the line of four. For example I put Frabotta against Sheffield in the last minutes. You can see if it works or doesn't.
"If Heggem is playing as a left-back then normally I am not going to put Frabotta and Styles on the bench because I am not going to involve three left-backs. So I have to sacrifice one of these, not because I don't like, because I have to value who is going to be more useful to us. Always these things are going to happen."
Will those players be ready?
For some, they're new to England and acclimatising to more than just the Championship, but English culture and a new way of life. There are others who have been borrowed from Premier League clubs, or who have earned moves from the league below and who aren't as Championship hardened as others. In McNair's case, who won't even be here for much longer.
Is it easy, then, as a coach to manage the aspect of non-playing time, and to ensure that those players are ready to perform when they're called upon? The league schedule, after all, is renowned for its turbulence, its travelling and the mere volume of fixtures to fulfil.
"This is the only possibility you have. When you are in an elite club, as a part of this squad, you need to accept this. You have 24 teammates," Corberan points out. "You may start with one group and then after...I use the example of Fellows last year. Some players give up in this challenge, and you cannot. It is your responsibility to insist and work hard - when you're in the first XI or not in the squad. Elite football is not easy, otherwise it would be for everyone.
"It's the same if I told you that I will only work hard when I'm winning games. What does that mean, that I am not going to work hard if I draw or lose? I must work hard whatever the result. The players must do exactly the same. If I only work hard when we win, I couldn't be a football coach. We are going to win, draw or lose, that's football.
"The players must be ready to work hard when they start, whether they're on the bench or not in the squad. They must adapt to the scenario. For me, at the start of the year, what you did last year helps you to be in this year. When you sign a player, you do so because of the past - you cannot watch the future! We watch the previous season.
"When we bring Johnston, it's based on what he did last year. When we brought Cole, it's based on the previous year. Styles, Frabotta, McNair, Grant...every player. The past helps you to be here now, but what changes the situation is what you're doing now. You help them to be their best but at some point it depends on them.
"I know Grant has this level because he has shown it before. Was he going to recover it? It depended on him. These experiences can help us to mature and to be ready to show your level on the pitch. Sometimes the previous experience doesn't help, you might have had frustrations and these are things you must manage as a player.
"Wallace was playing in the first XI once in ten games this season. He only played one. It's a new challenge in his career, but football is a challenge. The past only helps you to get to now. For me as the coach it's the same. In this present moment, we must beat the challenges we are going to face."