Express & Star

West Brom's Romaine Sawyers: When Jake Livermore talks, I listen

Romaine Sawyers is taking advice from midfield partner Jake Livermore as the duo continue to flourish in Albion’s midfield.

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Romaine Sawyers of West Bromwich Albion

The Baggies currently sit top of the Championship following an impressive start to the season that has seen them lose just once in 11 league outings.

Key to that run has been the form of Sawyers and Livermore, who sit in the engine room in Slaven Bilic’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

Sawyers, who was released by Albion aged 21, returned to the club in the summer following three years in the Championship with Brentford. And he believes he is improving as a footballer by playing alongside Livermore.

“When Jake talks, I listen,” Sawyers said. “He has been different class on and off the pitch. He’s been there and done it with Tottenham and England. His career speaks for itself. I’ve got so much respect for him as a person, I’ll dig deep for him and he’ll dig deep for me.

“We complement each other without strangling each other and he gives me so much confidence. I know I’ve got the trust of him and Barts and Semi (centre-backs Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi).

“If I make a mistake, like against Cardiff when I stepped over the ball, Jake could have easily ripped my head off, but he said ‘Rom it’s OK, but do better next time’.

“That goes throughout the dressing room. We haven’t got anyone who is going to rip your head off and is coming from a bad place. I think that’s going to stand us in good stead.”

Alongside Livermore, Sawyers says Charlie Austin is another leader in the Albion dressing room.

But he says everybody is given the freedom to speak their mind.

“Charlie is amazing,” the midfielder continued. “He’s the biggest joker in the dressing room, but at the same time, he’s the most serious guy.

“The things he says before the games both on the pitch and in the dressing room, you know his experience is second to none.

“Barts is the same, Livermore the same. There’s a lot of senior players in the dressing room and people like Grady (Diangana), Matheus (Pereira), Kyle (Edwards), Nath (Nathan Ferguson) can all learn off them.

“We’ve got a nice balance and there’s respect throughout.

“If Kyle Edwards says something it’s not going to take on any difference to Jake Livermore who has got the armband.

“It’s an amazing dressing room to be in. We’ve got a real togetherness from the gaffer all the way down.”