West Bromwich Albion midfielder Romaine Sawyers has sent a warning and insisted “we’re not a two-man team” as reported in an interview with the Birmingham Mail.
It was confirmed yesterday that Pereira had been charged for an ‘alleged’ elbow on Stoke City midfielder Joe Allen and with West Brom accepting the charge they will now be without their star man for three games including Saturday’s FA Cup trip to West Ham United.
Grady Diangana limped out of the Stoke game just two minutes in with a recurrence of his hamstring injury and Albion will now be without both of them for at least a couple of weeks.
Midfielder Romaine Sawyers has claimed that Pereira is now a marked man but believes that he will undoubtedly get back to his best upon his return.
“He is a victim of his own success. He is now a marked man. He came to the league fresh, nobody knew what he was about,” Sawyers explained. “Now everyone can see the quality he possesses. He’s a good player and he will come good again.”
“You can see he is trying. I think you would be worried if he wasn’t showing the work rate or getting in the right positions but he is. He is a marked man but he will improve his game. At the start of the season he was playing in a lot more space than he is now.”
“He is working every day in training, the gaffer is pushing him. He has got the belief and trust of everyone in the dressing room and everyone at the club. We will keep pushing him and he will get back to his best.”
Sawyers also claimed that they will support Diangana with his injury by doing everything they can to get back to winning ways.
“We have seen what he can do and we all miss him, but we can’t afford to dwell on it or let it affect us because that is when it is really going to go from six games to seven to eight to nine to ten.”
“We have got to support him through his injury but at the same time the best support we give is getting back to winning ways.”
