00:00Kyle Bartley's leadership and determination at West Brom has been central to the club's
00:07efforts to regain their place in the Premier League. As one of the club's most committed
00:12and experienced defenders, Bartley has played a key role in their defensive solidity over
00:18the years, often captaining the team throughout difficult moments. I spoke with Charlie Haffenden
00:23of Birmingham World to explore Bartley's ongoing efforts to inspire his team, his hopes
00:29for the future and how he plans to lead West Brom back to the Premier League.
00:35Charlie looking at West Brom at Chalbian and picking out a player specifically, 33 years
00:40of age but he has had a real good impact at West Brom. So many years there now, he's played
00:4840 games in a fair few campaigns as well, it's Kyle Bartley. In terms of his impact
00:55at the club, the way West Brom fans look at him and how much of a servant he's been
01:02for them through quite a difficult period really. If you look at West Brom's recent
01:07times, it's not been amazing, it's not been anywhere near the fact they were in the Premier
01:12League for over almost eight years really, consistently. He's come in, he's been a great
01:18servant for them. What do you take from watching him and the impact he has at the Albion?
01:27I think he's a very important player. He's been very much in and out of the team this
01:30season but that doesn't mean he doesn't have an importance in the squad. If it wasn't for
01:35little injuries here and there, little knocks that he's been experiencing, little setbacks
01:40in training, I think he'd be starting most matches to be honest. Even someone like Mason
01:44Holgate who's come in on loan from the Premier League, from Everton, has had to sit on the
01:48bench sometimes because Bartley has been so impressive. When Samir Jahi's been out of
01:53form, Bartley's come in and he's provided that solidity. I think the importance for
01:56Tony Mowbray as well is in the Championship you need to be physical, you need to be strong
02:01in the air. So many different teams will go route one at times when things aren't quite
02:05going well for them. They'll throw balls into the box, they'll play for set pieces and then
02:10you've got someone like Bartley who can stand in the middle of the park and he can clear
02:14those away for you. So important to how Mowbray wants to approach things because he wants
02:19to be attacking and he doesn't want to have to think too much about the solidity of defence
02:23because you've got someone there who can do things without almost thinking about it, instinctively
02:28clearing away either with his head or with his boots. So Bartley as I say is so, so important
02:32and that experience as well when the pressure is on to try and get a playoff finish, so
02:36many teams in and around you, you need someone like that, a cool head at the back who's had
02:40the experience of being in a division and experiencing those similar campaigns before
02:45can really help you get over the line.
02:47In terms of his future, obviously 33, coming towards the back end certainly of his career
02:54maybe at the top level. Do you feel if West Bromart has stopped down in the Championship
02:58he could be a real leader again and really help their push for that promotion place again?
03:06It's an interesting one because with the contract expiring this summer, this talk he might not
03:11be staying at the club at all. I think if Mowbray has anything to say about it he'll
03:15keep him on for another year but obviously it does depend on the desire of the player
03:19as well if he can continue at this top level. As I mentioned before there have been so many
03:23injuries kind of wearing away at him in this season and he's not been able to put a proper
03:27run together of starts but I think if you can get 15, 20 starts in a season that's not
03:33exactly bad at his age, 33, 34 years old. If baggies do not go up to the Premier League
03:39this season he's still of a level that he can contribute pretty effectively. He can
03:44be a regular starter for them, if not he can come in off the bench or he can fill in when
03:48injuries take hold. If they do go to the Premier League he might be more of a figure just in
03:53the dressing room. I don't think he's quite at the level to play in the top flight anymore
03:57but his experience as I mentioned is so, so important. Sometimes players can have a real
04:01impact just from the dressing room and not actually from playing minutes but he is definitely
04:04good enough to be playing minutes. He's someone they really miss when he's not playing and
04:09as I said Mowbray really enjoys having him in the squad.
04:11They've been very difficult to beat this season, West Brom, but they've just not picked up
04:15enough victories. 16 draws is just ridiculous isn't it at this point of the season. 35 games
04:22in, 16 draws. It's been boring at times for Albion fans to say the least. Obviously it's
04:28better than being defeated in matches but you'd rather win one, lose one, win one, lose
04:32one in terms of points totals and when it's so tight in that top six race, you see Middlesbrough,
04:36you think they're dead set to finish there, then they fall away. Coventry come out of
04:40nowhere. West Brom need to start winning games, they need to start winning games quickly.
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