Chris Willock says he will continue to work hard for Albion’s Premier League 2 side to ensure he’s ready should a spot in the Baggies’ first-team arise.
The former Arsenal youngster arrived at The Hawthorns in the summer on loan from Benfica and has netted five goals in eight PL2 games - which he will look to better when the Throstles face Newcastle at Whitley Park on Friday (ko 12pm).
While Willock’s ambition is to break into Slaven Bilić's matchday squads, he is willing to wait for an opportunity and has been speaking to the gaffer to find out how he can make the step up.
This week's PL Cup clash is another chance to impress; the tricky winger scored twice in a 2-0 win at Scunthorpe United in Albion’s maiden game of the competition.
“My main goal is to get minutes in the first-team,” said Chris.
“Hopefully I can do that soon. I spoke to the boss a few weeks ago and he said I need to be to patient and wait for an opportunity and keep working hard.
“That’s what I intend to do I think the team has a lot of quality and it’s show’s because the team is playing very well, the boss has a good relationship with all the players and hopefully the first-team can carry on with their recent form.
“I thought we played well against Stoke in our last PL2 game. We showed great character coming from behind in difficult conditions. I think the team is getting better every game and growing in confidence.
“It was very pleasing to score - it’s always great to on the score sheet. It’s something I’ve been working on and I’m happy it’s paying off."
The two teams have faced each other recently; the Baggies beat the Magpies 2-1 in the league in September.
“It’s going to be tough game against Newcastle,” said Chris.
“We played them recently and they were really physical so I don’t think it will be easy but we have some good players so hopefully we can get the win.”