Andrews 'takes gamble' on move

KEITH ANDREWS has admitted that accepting a six-month deal at the Hawthorns might be regarded as a gamble for a 31-year-old, but the Ireland midfielder is confident that a good run into the end of the season as well, he hopes, as some impressive showings at the European Championships, will put him in a strong position to secure his longer-term future.

“It just shows my desperation to get away from Blackburn,” the Dubliner said yesterday. “I’ve walked away from an 18-month contract to join West Brom on a six-month deal. Some people will see that as a risk but I just want to give it a right go and then we’ll readdress the situation in the summer.”

Andrews joined Blackburn in 2008 but he describes the club now as “very different to the one I signed for,” and says that getting a move away had been delayed because it is “in disarray at the moment,” and getting “straight answers out of anyone proved difficult”.

He had, he said, effectively realised his time there was up last summer when: “I didn’t think I was shown the respect I deserved . . . but [at that stage] it was taken out of my hands, I was told they wanted to loan me out and I basically went out and tried to enjoy my football again after what had been a frustrating season last year with injuries and illness.”

Andrews says he missed the opportunity to play for Roy Hodgson when he was in charge of Fulham and he didn’t want to let it pass this time. “I’ve a huge amount of respect for him and his side plays good football. They have a system and a style of play that I think will suit me.

“I’ve had to adapt my game over the last few years. For my country, I play a more defensive role where we play two sitting in front of the back four. At club level, depending on what manager it has been, I’ve sometimes had the licence to get forward and chip in with some goals. I haven’t spoken to him [Hodgson] about it yet but whatever the role, hopefully I can get into the team sooner rather than later and show all the sides of my game.”