Express & Star

Pepe Mel: I'll put Saido Berahino right

Albion boss Pepe Mel today claimed Saido Berahino can become a top international star – if he makes "sacrifices".

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And the Baggies head coach says he is ready to be Berahino's footballing father and help him put his troubled first season as a professional behind him.

The young striker burst onto the first-team scene earlier this season and was rewarded with a money-spinning new contract, but his form has since dipped. He has also been involved in a dressing room bust-up with team-mate James Morrison and was reprimanded after a video of him inhaling nitrous oxide was leaked to the media.

Mel said: "He has a lot to learn and he wants to learn. In the future I think he is going to be a really great player both for West Brom and for the English national side.

"I try to give him advice about what he should do on the pitch and I try to tell him what he needs to do in order to remain a top-level footballer for a long period of time.

"But what he needs to understand is that no-one achieves anything without making sacrifices."

Berahino has infuriated senior colleagues during the Baggies' disappointing campaign with team-mates alleging he became carried away with his early-season success.

But Mel insists the striker can put a troubled spell behind him to make his mark at The Hawthorns.

"Players become very popular at a young age and they end up being in the newspapers and on TV," said Mel.

"Saido is one of these young players and he can go on to be a great player. It is part of the coaches' responsibility to make sure that he goes on to do this."

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