Roy Hodgson has insisted Marc-Antoine Fortune remains an important part of his plans after a strong performance against Stoke.
Baggies boss pays tribute to striker
West Brom manager Roy Hodgson has insisted Marc-Antoine Fortune remains an important part of his plans after a strong performance against Stoke.
Fortune had found himself a long way down the pecking order at The Hawthorns earlier in the season and was sent to Doncaster for a loan spell before Christmas.
He has impressed since coming back to the Baggies and took his chance to shine when handed a first league start of the campaign at Stoke on Saturday.
Fortune was deployed as a lone striker but coped with the challenge well to help West Brom win 2-1, and Hodgson maintains that he never considered letting the 30-year-old leave on a permanent basis.
"I think he's always had a future here," Hodgson told the club's
official website.
Shining through
"We loaned him out to Doncaster, I took the chance over a month to let him go because he really did need to get some game time.
"It's worked out really well in his favour and in ours because he's come back stronger, mentally.
"The confidence he got playing at Doncaster is now shining through.
"But I've never lost faith in Marc-Antoine Fortune. He's a good centre-forward and when you're discussing other players you need to be certain that they're better than the ones you've got."
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