Unlucky Tom Rogic would be one of the first names on the West Brom team-sheet according to boss Carlos Corberan but he also admitted the Celtic hero might not make his bench.
It has been a fruitful spell for the Aussie at the Hawthorns after a summer of uncertainty shrouded the midfielder following his hero's exit from life in Glasgow. Rogic left a trophy-laden spell at Parkhead behind and was linked with moves to Indonesia before West Brom came calling and the 30-year-old has kicked it up a gear with goals and assists.
But 'Wizard of Oz' hasn't managed more than 20 minutes of action since last year and the Spanish boss believes leaving such an experienced star out of his squad is 'totally unfair'. But the Leeds United-linked gaffer also admitted he has an embarrassment of riches that has not worked in Rogic's favour.
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He said: "It's complicated sometimes to give you the answer. I know how good a player Rogic is and how hard it is to leave a player out who could be in the first XI - not just someone who could be on the bench. We can play with a specific number 10, and then a specific 10 on the bench.
"Or, you play with a number 10 and a player who has a different profile, and you don't take two seats on the bench with two players who give you the same. It depends more on this than the player. I can only tell you that to leave Rogic out of the squad is totally unfair on him. Sometimes to leave out another player is unfair for him too.
"When you have a squad with lots of players, you have a problem - you're leaving out good players. When you have a squad without enough good first-team players, you don't have players who can play at the same level if someone is injured. At the end, I think fortunately we have very good players.
"Some players are going to manage difficulties very well, difficulties as a coach for me and for the players, it's all about our journey together. I only can involve 16 outfield players in the team every game, and I have 20 very good players. Four will be out of the group, when they're working well - as they are - it means that every decision you make might be the right one, but it's unfair. This is one of the worst parts for me as a coach - to make unfair decisions."
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