Cheerful Steve Bruce drops Jake Livermore expletive as West Brom stop the rot

Jake Livermore owed West Bromwich Albion a performance after returning from his four-match suspension with a man of the match display against former club Hull City, boss Steve Bruce pointed out.

Skipper Livermore was deployed in the holding midfield role in Bruce’s new look starting line-up and it was a decision which immediately paid dividends as Albion posted their first victory since the end of January thanks to Karlan Grant’s brace.

Livermore, who was sent off in Bruce’s first match in charge at Sheffield United, was excellent at the MKM Stadium and went some way to repaying his previous unavailability.

That was, as Bruce put it, for getting sent off like a p****!

“I have to say the addition of Jake in midfield, alongside the young kid, just did the trick for us. It’s what we’ve missed,” Bruce said. “His reading of the game, the way he broke things up, he owed us that after getting sent off like a p****, but there you go! I can say that about Jake, because he’ll take it the right way!”

The young kid Bruce is referring to, of course, is Taylor Gardner-Hickman.

Many an Albion supporter has craved the restoration to the starting XI of the academy product since he dropped out towards the end of Valerien Ismael’s tenure. His minutes since Bruce walked through the door have been limited, too.

Here, though, Gardner-Hickman - operate as an eight alongside Alex Mowatt - caught the eye and won the penalty which brought a more comfortable look to the score-line.

“He does what a young kid does - he gives you that vital ingredient which is enthusiasm,” Bruce reasoned. “He wants to do well. He took the long way around for the applause at the finish. I was pleased with him, he’s been knocking on the door for a while,