Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo has urged Robert Koren to show patience at the Hawthorns as the midfielder gears up for the biggest game of his international career.

Di Matteo has assured Koren he will remain part of the Baggies’ plans if he remains at the Hawthorns beyond the January transfer window.

Koren has expressed doubts about his long-term future at the Hawthorns after losing his place in the centre of midfield to Graham Dorrans and Di Matteo has admitted previously that he will discuss the situation with the player.

But the Hawthorns head coach has insisted he remains a big fan of the Slovenia captain, who is gearing up for the World Cup qualifying play-offs against Russia.

Di Matteo said: “He is a very good player. The problem is that we have got quite a few similar players who can play in the position that ‘Roko’ would like to play in.

“At the moment we’ve got Graham Dorrans playing there and he’s doing well, so I don’t see any reason to change things right now.

“But Robert Koren is a great player for us and is under contract, so he is our player. I hope he gives us patience, because I am sure he will get a chance at some stage.”

Koren and his Slovenia team-mates are in Russia, where they will play the first leg of their qualifying play-off tomorrow. They face the second leg on home turf on Wednesday, as Koren looks to fulfil his boyhood ambition of leading his nation to the World Cup finals.

In the meantime, his Baggies team mates were jetting back from La Manga with Di Matteo urging his strikers to build on their goalscoring exploits against Watford at the Hawthorns in their last home game.

He said: “I hope that the game has given them a big boost, so they can go into the future games and get more goals.”