Carlos Corberan wants Daryl Dike in the West Brom mix
Head coach Carlos Corberan will encourage Albion match-winner Daryl Dike to redouble his efforts to get in where it matters.
Dike powered in to score a diving header for his first goal at The Hawthorns just over a year after arriving for £7million as Corberan's side saw off Reading 1-0 on Monday.
It was a memorable moment for Dike, 22, and the Baggies faithful after the United States international has endured two lengthy muscle injury setbacks.
Corberan, whose side have won eight of their last nine games, feels that sometimes Dike has work 'against himself' in doing unselfish running away from where it really counts – between the opposition's post.
“I think sometimes he plays against himself because he tries to do a lot of things," Corberan said.
"In the first half he was doing a lot of running far from the box and what we need to fix better is at the back of the team, to allow him to be more focused to do the things in the places and spaces that you need a striker.
"That's why in the second half he was there for the cross and the goal."
Dike pounced on the hour, after seeing one close-range first-half chance go by, to crash in Jayson Molumby's superb cross.
It was just the striker's second goal of the season after he marked his comeback from injury nightmare with a goal from the bench in the comeback win at Sunderland after the international break.
He has since been used in a rotation with Brandon Thomas-Asante. Corberan has switched his starting lone striker up every match to help protect Dike as he builds up fitness.
Thomas-Asante, meanwhile, continues to impress with his work rate and goals since checking in from Salford City.
“To say he’s played here for one year and just scored doesn’t sound right but he hasn’t scored before because he hasn’t played," Corberan added of Dike.
“He had a long-term injury but he’s a very important player for us.
“The fitter he is, the better it is for the team, the more he trains, the better condition he’s in to perform.
“So there isn’t any doubt that he’s one very important player for us that we need to keep controlling, because he’s one player that we need in the box."
