[h=3]Albion's Andrews braced for hot reception from Blues fans[/h]9:00am Friday 16th August 2013 in Albion By Andy Naylor
Keith Andrews is likely to start against Birmingham
KEITH ANDREWS is bracing himself for a rough ride on his full debut for Albion.
Andrews is likely to start at Birmingham City tomorrow following his season-long loan move from Bolton Wanderers and second half substitute appearance in last Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat by Derby County.
The experienced midfielder began his career in the West Midlands with Wolverhampton Wanderers and also had a brief spell at West Bromwich Albion, so he is ready for jibes from the St Andrews faithful – and a tough time from Lee Clark’s team.
Andrews joked: “I should get a nice response, shouldn’t I? Week in, week out if you’re not prepared to win your battles and do the hard stuff before you actually can go and play the football you want to play then I think you’ll get found out.
“Lee Clark has changed a lot in the summer in terms of getting possibly some of the higher earners out of the club because of restrictions.
“He’s brought in possibly younger, hungrier players from a lower level and I’m sure it’ll be a tough test.”
Andrews has a wealth of experience in the Championship from stints with Wolves, Stoke, Walsall, Hull, Ipswich and Bolton.
He says a tight-knit squad will be key to Albion recovering from their pointless start after two matches and making an impact under head coach Oscar Garcia.
Andrews told The Argus: “It just seems to get tougher and tougher every year. If you look at the teams that have come down, Wigan have signed nine or so players.
“QPR are obviously a little bit special with the way they’ve gone about things, but they’ve still got an abundance of talent. You’ve got clubs like Forest that have had a real go in the transfer market, and teams like Leicester that have been here for a few years, so it’s a tough, tough division.
“But I think the biggest thing is a group of players that buy into the way you want to play, and stick as a group. That’s the key, because there’s certainly enough talent in that dressing room to be successful.”
Andrews already knows he will miss two games for Albion in the Championship. He cannot play against Bolton under the terms of his loan move.
Original article
KEITH ANDREWS is bracing himself for a rough ride on his full debut for Albion.
Andrews is likely to start at Birmingham City tomorrow following his season-long loan move from Bolton Wanderers and second half substitute appearance in last Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat by Derby County.
The experienced midfielder began his career in the West Midlands with Wolverhampton Wanderers and also had a brief spell at West Bromwich Albion, so he is ready for jibes from the St Andrews faithful – and a tough time from Lee Clark’s team.
Andrews joked: “I should get a nice response, shouldn’t I? Week in, week out if you’re not prepared to win your battles and do the hard stuff before you actually can go and play the football you want to play then I think you’ll get found out.
“Lee Clark has changed a lot in the summer in terms of getting possibly some of the higher earners out of the club because of restrictions.
“He’s brought in possibly younger, hungrier players from a lower level and I’m sure it’ll be a tough test.”
Andrews has a wealth of experience in the Championship from stints with Wolves, Stoke, Walsall, Hull, Ipswich and Bolton.
He says a tight-knit squad will be key to Albion recovering from their pointless start after two matches and making an impact under head coach Oscar Garcia.
Andrews told The Argus: “It just seems to get tougher and tougher every year. If you look at the teams that have come down, Wigan have signed nine or so players.
“QPR are obviously a little bit special with the way they’ve gone about things, but they’ve still got an abundance of talent. You’ve got clubs like Forest that have had a real go in the transfer market, and teams like Leicester that have been here for a few years, so it’s a tough, tough division.
“But I think the biggest thing is a group of players that buy into the way you want to play, and stick as a group. That’s the key, because there’s certainly enough talent in that dressing room to be successful.”
Andrews already knows he will miss two games for Albion in the Championship. He cannot play against Bolton under the terms of his loan move.
Original article