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Interview: Goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler glad to be back at West Brom

admin 2/09/2018 09:45:00 am Sports

Qn: How do you improve a player like Ben Foster, someone who has spent more than a decade as one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League?

Albion’s No.1 is arguably their jewel in the crown. He has been named both supporters’ player of the year and players’ player of the year in three of his six full seasons at The Hawthorns.

An England international who has bounced back from that set-back in his 30s in stunning fashion, he has consistently bailed the Baggies out of holes over the past few years.

So how can a new goalkeeping coach improve someone who’s seen it all before?

That is the task that has been given to Neil Cutler, who at 41, is only a few years older than Foster and back-up keeper Boaz Myhill.

Cutler is an Albion fan himself and joined from Walsall three weeks ago after being recommended to head coach Alan Pardew by a number of people – including Foster.

His passion, ambition, and hunger came across in an exclusive in-depth interview at the Palm training ground this week.

“I don’t think you can go in as a new coach and go ‘bang, that’s me’,” he said. “You have to drip-feed your ideas, your thoughts and personality.

"Especially because I’m working with 34 and 35-year-olds who know the game..

It’s not about saying you have to do it my way, it’s about going in and saying ‘ok that’s the way you do it, what would happen if you do it this way?’

“You can’t just crack the whip, it doesn’t work, that’s not the way to motivate players, especially ones that have been in the Premier League so long.”

Keen observers will have noticed that Foster has improved certain aspects of his game recently.

Even though the Baggies have let in eight goals in their last three games, he was brilliant at Anfield, the Etihad Stadium, and at home to Southampton.

“Ben has been fantastic in terms of listening and learning and wanting to understand, and it’s already working I think,” said Cutler.

“His starting position in relation to the ball is far better, he’s taking more crosses, which is what we worked on.

“His distribution is getting better all the time. We’re just working on little aspects of his game that are going to help.

“He’s such a front-foot reactive goalkeeper that sometimes he gets dragged a little bit down the line, we have to hold him back a little bit.

“He’s really buying into it. He’s such a good down-to-earth open character that you can approach it any way you like.

“I’ve known him a long time. When he first joined Stoke from Racing Club Warwick a long time ago I was at Stoke.

“He knows my character as well, he knows what I like. It’s a two-way thing.

“We do our debriefs altogether as a unit, so he’ll sit there and I’ll ask kids questions about what they see Ben doing and he’s open to that.

“I think his form has been really good. I’ve said to him, you can’t get frustrated with results. He’s played well in those games.

“When the ball hits the back of the net you can always criticise yourself, but if you can allow me to nitpick and allow him to get on with it, that keeps him psychologically strong.”

It’s not just Foster that Cutler has seen an immediate response from, he’s also been impressed with Boaz Myhill.

“Boaz has really bought into it too,” he said. “He’s looking quicker around the goal already. Even at 35 he’s trying to add things to his game, and I think it’s really paying off for him.

“I’m trying to give them the inches, little things that may help their game develop a little bit. Just keep moving forward, keep testing them.

“If he’s not playing at the weekend, why is he coming in? What’s his goal? If you give him a goal, keep him competitive, when his chance comes again, he’s ready.”

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