West Brom boss wants Martis to stay

Apr 28 2009 by Chris Lepkowski

"He is a young footballer in terms of experience and the signs are there that that penny is dropping and that he understands the maturity required to play for our team.

"And he has all the attributes and assets you require to play in central defence.

"He looks composed with the ball, he is big and strong and fast and those things have never been a problem."

One of the Mowbray's biggest reservations over Martis, who joined Albion from Hibernian for £50,000 two summers ago, was his capacity to cope with overcoming mistakes.

Martis' ability, claims Mowbray, has never been in question - more a case of showing more confidence in his own abilities.

The Albion boss feels that the centre-half is showing more resolve these days.

"Coming from Holland to Darlington and then going to Hibs and then going into this team on the verge of being in the Premier League has been a massive jump for him," added Mowbray.

"But sometimes you have to just believe you can play at this level and believe that you deserve to be here and warrant your place.

"That is what he has had to convince himself of and once he has done that I think we’ve got a hell of a good player.

"When I first saw him playing for Darlington and took him to Scotland I could see all those attributes but I feel he has needed to develop mentally over the piece and the signs are there for me that he is getting there and is becoming a tougher player.

"Even in the adversity of his mistake against Stoke that was clear.

"In years gone by, having worked with Shelton, he might have had a tough time on the back of that.

"But he has shown that he is pushing on and is mentally stronger now and can cope with the mistakes that happen.

"Every footballer makes mistakes but it’s about how you bounce back from that and keep going and I have been delighted with Shelton."