Slaven Bilic prescribes hard work for misfiring Albion forward Oli Burke
Boss Slaven Bilic claims hard work is the only thing which will get Oli Burke firing for Albion.
The £15million forward has not scored for the Baggies in more than a year and has so far struggled to make the most of his chances this season.
Burke was handed a first start of the campaign in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie and played the full 90 minutes against Millwall but disappointed in Albion’s 2-1 defeat.
Bilic has some sympathy for the 22-year-old Scotland international, upon whom the considerable fees paid out for him, first by RB Leipzig and then the Baggies, have appeared to weigh heavily.
But he believes Burke must ultimately stick to his task if his form and fortune are to turn.
Bilic said: “It’s difficult for young players when they have big transfers and he needs to score a few goals and make it easier for himself.
“It is easy to say you have to get over it. But there are bigger names and more experienced players who are coping with those situations, and we are are trying to help him with that.
“But it is not easy. Sometimes you just need a run. All you can do is work hard and hopefully it will happen.”
Leipzig paid £13million for Burke in the summer of 2016, after the Nottingham Forest academy product had made only 32 senior appearances.
A year later he joined Albion in another big money deal but has so far failed to justify the outlay.
His goal in a 1-0 Carabao Cup win over Luton, a year ago yesterday, remains his only one for the club.
The arrival of Bilic and a summer rebuild has presented another chance for Burke, who spent the second half of last term on loan at Celtic, to finally find his feet at The Hawthorns.
Having been limited to just three Championship appearances in the first-half of last season, he already has two to his name having come off the bench in the opening two league fixtures.
Primarily a winger, Burke began the season as the Baggies’ third-choice centre-forward prior to the arrival of Charlie Austin.
It was a position in which he was again utilised against Millwall, after Austin had been withdrawn an hour into the game. Bilic later explained that had always been the plan but conceded the Baggies, with Burke in a central role, had lacked presence in the final third.
“In the first 30 minutes of the match, he was very lively,” said Bilic.
“He was pressing them and was good in the link-up play, with Grady (Diangana), with Kyle (Edwards), with Charlie.
“In the second half, it was planned that when Charlie went off, for him to play as a centre forward.
“We weren’t that pleasant in the box when Charlie went off, to be fair. We were lacking a presence there. For the number of times we were there, it was too easy for them to defend.”
Bilic and the Baggies were left with a definite sense of deja vu after failing to make the most of a bright start for the second time in four days against the same opponents.
Last Saturday saw Millwall hit back to claim a 1-1 draw after Kyle Bartley had opened the scoring for the home side when the two clubs met in the Championship.
Bilic made nine changes for the cup tie but saw his team beaten 2-1 after Austin had netted on debut.
He said: “We have a squad which has quality and we wanted to give guys who are going to be playing for us in the league a chance. To be fair, we started excellently.”
