West Brom manager, Carlos Corberán, has hailed hattrick hero Josh Maja after their 3-1 away over Queens Park Rangers in their English Championship opener on Saturday.
One-cap Super Eagles striker grabbed his first goal of the game and the equalizer for the Baggies in the 26th minute cancelling out QPR’s 16th-minute opener through Lucas Andersen.
The former Bordeaux forward made it 2-1 in the 51st minute before putting the game beyond the hosts in the 65th minute with his third goal of the encounter. The 25-year-old will be looking to be a key player for the club this season.
Reacting to the win and the performance of the entire team especially that of Maja, Corberan said he is happy for the 25-year-old and the overall character shown by the club despite going behind early in the game.
“I am happy with the fighting mentality of the players,” Corberan said after the win.
“We are always very happy when we see one player, who has suffered a lot, come back to the pitch and for me, every player on the pitch needs to play with the maximum concentration to help the team and contribute to the result we want to achieve.
“Today, Josh Maja has had a very good level of impact on the game because it is not easy to score three goals, and all three had a lot of quality.
“But with Josh Maja, after one season without playing many games, we have to manage his minutes well and this is one of the positions we need to strengthen because we need to protect every single player.
“I think if you wait for the results to get the confidence, you will never win football games. You need to believe in your commitment, your fighting mentality and your work to win football games.”
While Maja made way for Devante Cole in the 76th minute, his compatriot, Semi Ajayi was in action for the entire duration of the game for the Baggies.
