McAuley: No egos in WBA squad

Gareth McAuley insists the strong nature of the West Brom squad will ensure the club bounce back from a series of recent unsavoury incidents.

The Baggies have attracted unwanted headlines for the behaviour of striker Peter Odemwingie and left-back Goran Popov.

Odemwingie has been fined for his series of Twitter attacks on the club and turning up at Loftus Road without permission on transfer deadline day, only to see his proposed move to QPR collapse.

Popov was also disciplined for spitting in the direction of Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker during last week's game and his red card has cost him a three-game ban.

Then in the same game, central defender Jonas Olsson made a one fingered gesture towards some Baggies fans who had jeered him when making a mistake.

But McAuley is adamant the players will police themselves as Albion look to bounce back from losing five of their last six games when they face Liverpool at Anfield on Monday evening.

The Northern Ireland international said: "Everyone keeps everyone in check. When players are low you pick them up.

"When they're getting carried away you bring them back down to earth. That's how dressing rooms always have been.

"You always hear how players miss the dressing room when they retire. We've a good dressing room at the moment.

"It works both ways, I said there was no egos when I came here. Everyone wants the same things, we play to win.

"Do the headlines affect the dressing room? Once you're on the pitch, you're focused, things in the background don't come into your mind.

"You're too busy focusing on the game and what's going on in front of you."

McAuley was not allowed to comment on Odemwingie's behaviour but revealed that Macedonian international Popov had apologised for his actions.

He said: "Goran has said sorry for his actions, we draw a line under it and he'll serve his time on the sidelines.

"Liam Ridgewell will come into the side now and make it hard for him to get back in

"Was it cultural? I'm not sure. It was out of character. He's actually a nice guy.

"You can put it down to a head loss. It's something he wishes he hadn't done.

"It was one of things you can't believe. I'd have reacted differently. But he knew he was in the wrong after the game. He held his hands up.

"It was a game we were in, we had a chance of getting something out of. His reaction killed us. We've drawn a line under it. We need everyone."

McAuley has revealed his relief at centre-back partner Olsson remaining at Albion after a £5 million bid from QPR was rejected last month.

He said: "I'm glad Jonas has stayed. He's a massive player for the club.

"When he's out there, he's 100 per cent committed to the club. A centre-back partnership is an important thing.

"We trust each other and we want to develop the partnership more. We're both disappointed we've conceded a lot of goals in the last few weeks.

"We want to get back to being strong as a core at the back."