Alan Irvine: Saido still learned with England

West Brom boss Alan Irvine today insisted striker Saido Berahino will benefit from his first England call-up despite being denied a dream Three Lions debut.

Berahino returned to Albion today after the frustration of being left on the sidelines by national boss Roy Hodgson for the victories over Slovenia and Scotland.

But Irvine believes the time training with Hodgson's squad will benefit his eight-goal hitman despite the disappointment of being made to wait for his debut.

"He came back really pleased to have been away and looking hungry to continue his development," said Irvine.

"He may be disappointed that he did not get on but it will certainly benefit him. No question.

"It is vitally important he learns from the experience and that all helps him become an even better and get even more of a taste of England in the future.

"We will get the benefit of that and ultimately Saido will as well.

[comments_cta header="What do you think?" text="Should Roy Hodgson be criticised for not picking Saido Berahino on England duty?" button="Log in and start commenting"]

"It is vitally important he has learnt a lot in these last two weeks and that helps him make the progress he needs to continue to make.

"He knows he has a lot to do to continue to develop to become a regular at that level. I really hope this will give his season yet another boost.

"It is fantastic for the club and the lad. It is great for him to be recognised in this way, he needs to learn from the experience and become a better player.

"I cannot see any negatives at all about him going away and being a part of it – and that includes him not playing.

"He has had a couple of weeks of working with those players and living with those players and he would be missing an opportunity if he didn't take an awful lot from that."

Meanwhile, Irvine is sweating on the fitness of left-back Sebastian Pocognoli (hamstring) for Saturday's trip to Chelsea, while Jonas Olsson (Achilles) is still not ready despite returning to training.

Youssouf Mulumbu and Jason Davidson will be assessed tomorrow, on their return from long-haul international trips.

[related_posts title="More on Saido Berahino and England"]