‘Could make it really interesting’ – Kevin Campbell claims West Brom need one thing to survive
West Brom took a big hit to their survival hopes by losing to Sheffield United on Tuesday, but Kevin Campbell still has hope.
Albion took the lead in the first half but defensive frailties showed once more and allowed the Blades back into the game.
The result means Brighton are nine points clear in 17th place and have the opportunity to extend that lead when they play Liverpool on Wednesday.
Campbell still believes Sam Allardyce can lead West Brom to safety, however.
Appearing on TalkSPORT on Wednesday 3rd February, he said (09:40), “What Big Sam and Sammy Lee I’m sure are going to try get across to the players is ‘look guys we have to learn from our mistakes but we can’t carry it with us’.
“They’ve got to pick up that momentum and they’ve got to believe in it. They’re bang in big trouble.
“If they can work with the mentality of ‘we’ve just got to look forward to the next game’, I think they could make it really interesting down there.”
Looking bleak
Big Sam said that the matches against Fulham and Sheffield United were vital to our chances of avoiding relegation and we have gained just one point from those two games.
Worse still, those teams have managed just five wins in 42 combined league games this term.
If we cannot beat them, there is little hope for us against other opponents even if we do adopt the right mentality, as Campbell suggests.
The only source of hope we can find is that we have two new signings to come into the side; Okay Yokuslu and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Allardyce’s other signings, Mbaye Diagne and Robert Snodgrass, have both made a positive impression, but their performances have not been enough to make up for our glaring weaknesses.
Big Sam has to address the defensive issues, and Maitland-Niles and Yokuslu could help with that.
They both have the ability to disrupt the opposition, with the former making 1.7 interceptions throughout his career (WhoScored) and Yokuslu achieving 2.2 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game (WhoScored).
As Campbell says, the squad must not dwell on these negative results, but it is difficult to see how we will get anything from our next two games.
Tottenham and Manchester United are tough opponents and a trip to Burnley after that is not exactly an attractive proposition.
However, the match against the Clarets is the start of a four-match run against teams in the bottom half.
If we have any hope of staying up we must take wins from those games, particularly against Brighton and Newcastle.
In other West Brom news, ‘Release’, ‘Worst player on the pitch’ – These WBA fans tear into ‘liability’ vs Sheffield Utd.