West Bromwich Albion boss Alan Irvine hailed Joleon Lescott's winning debut at Tottenham.
The Scot claimed his first victory as Baggies boss, thanks to James Morrison's second-half winner.
"We would have taken a big risk had we not put him in when he was ready," said Irvine of Lescott's performance.
"We already had one set-back against Nottingham Forest. I keep trying to explain that we want to put people in the team but they have to be ready. I felt he was ready this week. He had two weeks of training and he had that without feeling any small twinges. We felt this was the right opportunity to put him in and he played very well.
"It's terrific if you're a young centre-back like Craig Dawson and you're playing alongside somebody who has vast experience and somebody who can talk you through the game. Having said that, Craig has also played with Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley but another experienced centre-back can only help."
