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Baggies legend critical of Berahino

Cape Town - Former West Brom defender Ally Robertson feels that Saido Berahino's poor fitness and lack of urgency means it is just a matter of time before he departs the club.

According to a recent statement made by Tony Pulis, the controversial forward is carrying a bit of excess weight and as such is nowhere close to making a first-team appearance.

Robertson claims the academy graduate has no excuse despite not being in Pulis' first-team plans, and says he should be available for selection when called upon.

"If he has put on 8lbs, he's not training correctly, and he's not living correctly," he told The Express. "Any issue of personal fitness should fall solely at his door.

"Albion pay him very good money to play for them, and the least he can do is keep himself in tip-top condition so that when he is called upon, he's ready.

"In our day, your wages were halved if you weren't in the first team. But he's getting paid a fantastic amount of money whether he's running about the pitch or sitting on his backside.

"In my opinion, the quicker we get rid of him, the better. It's obvious that his relationship with the club is now beyond repair and his attitude to his fitness proves how little he cares.

"I can't see him returning from this, even if the new chairman is trying to build bridges. Ideally, we'd sell him in January, buy a replacement striker with the money, and move on from the whole sorry saga.

"But that is probably unlikely now. It looks like he's going to coast through the rest of the season on the fringes of the team before leaving on a free transfer next summer.

"Nobody is going to care too much when he does. There must be an element of arrogance for him to get so out of shape, an assumption that he'll still get a move whatever happens this season.

"He's probably right. Even with these latest weight issues, there will still be a club willing to take a gamble on him because of what he's done in the past and the potential he still has," the Baggies legend added. "But it won't be a club on the same level as Tottenham, who wanted him last year.

"It will be a sideways move and a fresh start. I would be very surprised if he went to a club bigger than the Albion now."

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