West Brom boss hopes internationals come back in good shape

Mar 31 2009 by Robert Tanner, Birmingham Post

“We allowed him to go and he was involved for a fair amount of the game.”

Brunt was in good form for Northern Ireland in the victory over Poland which left Nigel Worthington’s side top of their World Cup qualifying group but the winger picked up a booking and is now suspended for Wednesday’s game against Slovenia, which would have seen him lining up against team-mate Robert Koren.

While Mowbray said Brunt would be disappointed to miss out, he regards his suspension as a blessing in disguise for Albion in view of their massive Premier League clash against Stoke City at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

“Chris is going to stay and train with Northern Ireland and see the Wednesday night game out, although he is not playing,” Mowbray said.

“He is unavailable for that, which is a bonus for us and a disappointment for him, especially as he would have been playing against Robert Koren.

“Chris has done very well and been one of our better players over the last couple of months. I anticipate he will come back in confident mood anyway.

“However, it is a game against Slovenia and we don’t want Koren coming back too disheartened from a defeat, so we will see how that turns out.”

Also in action at the weekend were James Morrison, who came on as an 85th-minute substitute for Gary Teale in Scotland’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying Group Nine defeat by Holland. Dean Kiely was an unused substitute for the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup qualifying Group Eight 1-1 draw with Bulgaria at Croke Park.

Marek Cech played the first half for Slovakia in their 4-0 friendly defeat by England at Wembley, Pele’s Cape Verde beat Angola 1-0 in a friendly in Portugal, while Gianni Zuiverloon did not play a part in Holland under-21s’ 4-0 win over Germany on Friday.