Steve Coppell has done the right thing in bringing Dave Beasant to the club because he is one man who will not let you down.

I've known Dave for a long time and he is a smashing lad. He's nearly as old as I am but that doesn't make any difference to goalkeepers.

I played with Pat Jennings at the 1982 World Cup for Northern Ireland and he was probably our best player.

They say players reach their peak at about 33 years old, but goalies can go on longer and don't reach their peak until about 36. He has always kept himself in good shape.

I once played with him four years ago in a seven-a-side tournament in Trinidad and Tobago of all places along with Dennis Wise and Vinnie Jones. It was done by Sky TV and was just a summer holiday really.

There was a lot of partying going on, but I was impressed by how much of an athlete big Dave was. He romped the swimming competition, he would just dive in and take a couple of strokes and he would be at the other end!

He played a lot for Portsmouth last season and did well there and I think he is the type of keeper every team wants behind the defenders. He has got so much experience and commands his area well so he will be a big asset to Albion as they fight relegation.

It is so important to have a good goalkeeper and Albion have been unlucky in that department this season. Having Michel Kuipers out with a thigh injury has been a real problem.

He's torn the main muscle used for kicking and I had a similar injury myself so I know how painful it can be. You can be out for up to six weeks and you don't really know when it has properly healed, but he has to be careful not to come back too quickly.

If there is still scar tissue you are likely to tear it again and the injury can become much worse which is what happened to me.

I know Kuipers has had a problem with his kicking this season and whenever I have seen him that has been the weakest part of his game, so maybe that had something to do with the injury.

I thought Ben Roberts did really well in his first match against Portsmouth and to have gastric flu when you have only just joined a club is really unlucky.

It was not just him I was impressed with against Portsmouth, the whole team did well especially the defence which looked much more secure than they did at the start of the season. Coppell has seemed to have shored it up at the back and the team have stopped giving silly goals away which is so important if they are to get results.

They are playing with a lot more confidence now and have picked up a couple of points but the trouble is the teams around them have as well. I still think they can avoid relegation because the performances have been much better and I'm sure Beasant coming in will only improve that.

Saturday February 1