Di Matteo asks fans to back young gun
ROBERTO Di Matteo has asked Albion fans to show patience as he prepares to hand Chris Wood a start in place of Roman Bednar.
The New Zealander is due to begin only his fifth first-team game for the club in tonight’s game against Swansea City.
Bednar is ruled out after suffering a back injury during Saturday’s win against Reading.
But head coach Di Matteo is confident the 17-year-old can perform consistently, even though he still has room for improvement.
“He’s a young talented boy,” said the Italian.
“You can see he lacks a bit of experience but I think he has done well so far.
“I keep reminding everyone he is 18 in December so we have to be patient with him.
“If I didn’t think he was ready I wouldn’t have played him.
“We’re not a development team – we are trying to do something.
“The things he needs to work on are his first touch, retaining the ball, link-up play and scoring more goals because he gets the chances.”
Wood is still developing physically but Di Matteo is not too concerned about the player’s growth.
“As far as a I know you finish growing when you’re 20, 21,” added Di Matteo.
“So, he still has some growing to do.
“It isn’t a concern for me, I don’t know if it’s one for his mother or himself.
“Considering his size he is quite mobile.”
Bednar, meanwhile, should return for Saturday’s game against Coventry.
“He trapped a nerve in his back,” continued Di Matteo.
“He was in quite a lot of pain so we took him to the hospital for a check-up.
“But it’s not as bad as we first thought.
“He won’t play tonight but hopefully he’ll be available for the weekend.”
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