Darren Fletcher was left out of a West Bromwich Albion starting line-up in the Premier League for the first time in 87 matches.
Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino in action with West Bromwich Albion’s Darren Fletcher
Tony Pulis has insisted that he left Darren Fletcher out of the West Brom starting line-up for their clash with Leicester City due to his form rather than his contract situation, the Birmingham Mail reports.
Fletcher went into the clash with the Foxes looking to extend his run of 86 consecutive starts for the Baggies in the Premier League, but ultimately missed out on the starting line-up, coming on for the final 20 minutes at the Hawthorns.
But while some may have wondered whether his contract situation had something to do with his omission – the Mail reports that he is yet to finalise an extension with the club as his representatives seek the best contract – Pulis was adamant that his recent performances inspired the change.
“Fletcher has been a little bit down on his stats and I just felt it was right to give him a little bit of a break,” he said, as reported by the Mail.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis
“It’s nothing to do with that (contract).”
Unfortunately for West Brom, the change did not reap any rewards as Jamie Vardy’s goal shortly before the break handed the champions the three points and left Pulis’ men facing up to their fourth consecutive defeat.
While it has been an extremely promising season for the Baggies, supporters would undoubtedly be forgiven for wanting the campaign to now end as soon as possible.
Seventh place is out of reach and there are a cluster of sides within touching distance ready to take the shine off West Brom’s season by knocking them out of the top-half.
And based on their current form, it is difficult to imagine the Baggies being able to prevent that slide from happening.
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