Ex-Albion boss Steve Clarke: Saido Berahino needs to lose weight

Former Albion boss Steve Clarke reckons Saido Berahino needs to lose weight if he wants to get back near his best.

Wednesday's FA Cup fourth round replay win at Peterborough saw the striker make just his second start since October and Clarke reckons the 22-year-old is suffering from a lack of game time.

Berahino scored 20 goals last season to finish as the club's top scorer but has endured a difficult campaign this time around, infamously threatening to go on strike after being denied a deadline day move to Tottenham back in September.

Clarke, who gave the striker his Premier League debut back in 2013 when in charge at the Hawthorns, said: "He (Berahino) did well for me. He made his breakthrough into the first-team while I was manager at West Brom, and he was good.

"He's a boy who just wants to play football.

"There's one thing I would say about Saido, and I saw it a little bit last night in the cup, is that he looks a little bit heavy to me.

"He's always had little ups and downs in his weight and I think the fact he's not been playing regularly means he's maybe just put on a couple of kilos.

"It would certainly serve him better if he lost a little bit of weight."

Current Baggies boss Tony Pulis has admitted Berahino is lacking sharpness.

The striker, who is again the club's top scorer this season despite his lack of regular action, completed 120 minutes at London Road.

And Pulis said: "He needs it. We saw it again. He's nowhere near as sharp and fit as he was last year so he needs game time