Five West Brom talking points from trip to Turf Moor

There is a way back for Salomon Rondon

The critics grew louder and louder during the Venezuelan’s 20-game goal drought, but there are plenty of fans who also have sympathy for the striker.

It can be a thankless task chasing channel balls up front alone in a Tony Pulis side.

There are still question marks over his finishing, and the Baggies should be targeting a first-team striker in the summer to rival his starting place, but Rondon is no Brown Ideye, he deserves another season at the club.

Tony Pulis has earned some patience

As the Baggies headed towards nine hours without a goal, a chorus of ‘We’ve got Tony Pulis’ drifted out of the away end.

It would be wrong to say everyone was singing, and it would be wrong to suggest everyone has been converted, but four fantastic months between November and February has won plenty of doubters round.

Pulis’s relationship with the fans has improved and there are more now who believe he’s the right man to take Albion forward.

But should this season continue to fizzle out, he’ll need a strong start in the next campaign.

Craig Dawson adds goals to his game

Whenever Pulis criticised the right-back for failing to score, it felt slightly harsh on a player whose job it is to stop goals, rather than make them.

But Dawson has always been on the cusp of a run like this. He flings himself at every dead ball with complete disregard to his safety, and now has four of Albion’s last seven goals.

The club have just offered him a new contract, and no wonder, he’s one of the most under-rated players in the Premier League.

Darren Fletcher should have played there all season

The skipper’s form has been hit and miss recently, but only because he was asked to play a ridiculous amount of consecutive games and he found himself chasing the ball during the press.

On Saturday he looked far more comfortable in a deeper role, where he was able to spray passes and hold his position.

The problem is, all of Albion’s central midfielders are arguably holding players.

Sam Field, Jake Livermore and Claudio Yacob all prefer playing deeper.

The Baggies could use a box-to-box man with an eye for goal, and James Morrison, who looked lively when he came on, should be considered in that role next.

Sam Field has a bright future, but it's time for a loan spell

The lifelong Albion fan didn’t look out of place in a Premier League midfield battle.

He’s adept at finding pockets of space and he’s very tidy in possession. He’s a silky player who will probably never play with the burning intensity of man of the match James McClean, but a season in the Championship will add strength to his frame and sharpen up his reactions.

There are plenty of clubs interested in taking him and hopefully the squad will be big enough by the end of the window to allow that to happen.