AFTER ringing the changes against Bolton, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has admitted he has a few selection headaches ahead of Saturday's trip to Barnsley.
After an opening day victory at home to Scunthorpe in League One, the Albion boss freshened his team up for the mid-week Capital One Cup clash at Bolton.And after the battling Brewers secured a victory at the Macron Stadium thanks to a late Matty Palmer winner Hasselbaink has players challenging for selection in all areas of the pitch.
He said: "There is a headache, but it is a good headache. That is we want, we want competition and a strong squad. It is a long season and we will need players competing for places.
"Fingers crossed, we have no more injuries and I hope it stays that way. We have a few knocks but that is normal. The only player we have lost long term is Kelvin Maynard unfortunately and Zeli Ismail will not play on Saturday, but otherwise everyone is fighting for a place.
"We had to make changes at Bolton, we have just finished pre-season and no-one is 100 per cent match fit. We were extended mentally and physically against Scunthorpe, then at Bolton and now we face that at Barnsley.
"Three games a week, and going to the extreme, is a hard ask. So we had to change. It worked out and the players who came in did well and made us proud. They have done the job and that's what we want, for players to fight for places, to show they can do a job and handle it."