Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

John Brooks can be a mainstay here, says Hertha Berlin coach Jos Luhukay

#INSERT type:image caption:John Brooks scored a dramatic World Cup winner against Ghana in the summer. END#

Hertha Berlin coach Jos Luhukay has told German-born U.S. international Jay Brooks that the club want him to become a "mainstay" in the future.

Central defender Brooks, 21, came off the bench after 70 minutes of Hertha's 2-0 defeat at Schalke -- his first top flight action since mid-September.

After a patchy start to the season, Luhuaky dropped Brooks -- who scored the U.S. winner against Ghana at the World Cup in Brazil -- to the reserves.

He had struggled in his first Bundesliga campaign last season after being a key member of Hertha's promotion-winning team the season before.

But speaking at a news conference before his side's match against Hamburg at the weekend, Luhukay insisted that Brooks remained part of his plans.

"Patience is needed and we have that patience -- we want him to become a mainstay for our team in the near future," the Dutchman said.

"John has had the chance to develop as a Bundesliga player for two years now. That's a process, and it never stops.

"You need to give it your all in training every day. That's how you get consistency and stability in Bundesliga games."

On Friday, Brooks was called into the squad for the Hamburg match -- announced on the club's Twitter feed -- but appears likely to again begin on the bench.

"He plays on a position where you are sometimes brutally punished when you don't have that last bit of aggressiveness," Luhukay said.

"I hope that John has again learnt from the past few weeks, and that he one day makes it big here and we no longer need to talk about him.

"We are all more than happy when he's in the starting lineup because we all know that he has come through our ranks, and there's nothing we want more than that."

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