Fabian Hurzeler admitted he was thinking about bringing Danny Welbeck off the pitch before he scored a late winner against Newcastle.
Welbeck, 34, opened the scoring for Albion after 41 minutes, with a delicate chipped finish from Georginio Rutter’s through-ball.
Newcastle levelled the scoring on the 76th minute mark after Nick Woltemade’s skilfully converted Lewis Miley’s cross.
But it was Albion’s number nine, Welbeck, who had the final say with his fourth Premier League goal against Newcastle – his fifth in all competitions.
Danny Welbeck, 34, opened the scoring for Albion after 41 minutes, with a delicate chipped finish from Georginio Rutter’s through-ball. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Danny Welbeck, 34, opened the scoring for Albion after 41 minutes, with a delicate chipped finish from Georginio Rutter’s through-ball. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
The 84th minute winner came at the perfect time – as Tommy Watson and Charalampos Kostoulas were both stripped and ready to enter the field.
Asked if Welbeck was about to be replaced when he scored, Hurzeler said: “To be honest, yes. I think it's important to be honest and therefore that was the case, that I was thinking of taking him off and then he surprised me another time.”
Welbeck is showing no signs of slowing down this season.
The former England international has now scored four goals in his last three games, with braces against both Newcastle and Chelsea.
“I think everyone will focus now on his two goals,” Hurzeler said. “Of course it's important to win games, but when we look at his performance, how many times he defended, how many times he helped our defender to defend the goal, how many recovery runs he did.
“I think that's the main thing and if you work hard, if you do basic things right, then you will get the rewards.
"That was the case for Danny today, he worked hard for the team and in the right moments he was there. Of course, I think we all know that he has unbelievable quality in the box, around the box, he has really good execution when he's in front of the goal, but for me it's the main thing, how he's there as a leader, how he worked for his team and that was just the best.”
Albion head coach Hurzeler, 31 – who is two years younger than Welbeck – said the former Manchester United striker is a ‘top professional’.
"I think if you see his body, you know why,” the German said. “Before training, after training, he always tries to be prepared.
"He does good recovery [work], every training session he goes 100%per cent, he never tries to rest and I think that's the main thing.
"On top of that, if you have good personality, if you're a good leader, if you lead by behaviour, by performance, then I think that's the main thing, how to describe Danny Welbeck, because he's always there.
"He's not a selfish personality, he's always there for his teammates and on top of that, he's a great goalscorer. Overall, we're just pleased that we have him in the squad.”
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