Carlos Corberan hails backroom appointment and staff as West Brom emerge from festive period unscathed
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan has praised the work of his medical team after successfully navigating the Championship’s hectic festive period.
Since the World Cup break, the Baggies have won five of their six league matches and miraculously risen from 19th in the league to within a point of the Championship playoff spots.
The Spaniard’s side have managed to come through the Christmas period with just Kyle Bartley’s injury scare to note, who currently remains sidelined with a muscle problem.
Speaking to Express and Star, Corberan was quick to highlight the work of his medical team, including summer recruit Tony Strudwick, who has previously worked at both Manchester United and Arsenal.
He said: “Avoiding injuries is our main goal, and having Tony, someone who is a specialist, we use him a lot because his experience is massive and he is a member of staff in this club who has an important value to the club – our medical staff have a lot of experience, people who are very dedicated to the work they’re doing.
“They need to work in the preparation and the recovery, more than the demanding or performance type of work. The staff are so important, they have the focus and the knowledge for this.”
Competition for places
With West Brom’s squad all but nursed to full fitness, Corberan has the luxury of having several selection dilemmas over the coming weeks.
Both Daryl Dike and Brandon Thomas-Asante have hit the ground running following the World Cup layoff, and with the Spaniard favouring a 4-3-3 formation, there is only space for one of these forwards in the starting XI.
With Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley nearing full fitness, the competition at centre-back has never been stronger. The likes of Erik Pieters and Dara O’Shea will be disappointed if they are dropped from the first team after not conceding an open-play goal for over 12 hours of football.
Both Tom Rogic and Grady Diangana would get into most sides across the Championship but were both relegated to a spot on the bench against Reading last time out on 2 January.
With the winter transfer window well and truly underway, it will be interesting to see if Corberan deems it necessary to make a move for any fresh faces.
In other West Brom news, Carlos Corberan wants ambitious West Brom to strengthen further in the January transfer window as he speaks out on their upcoming plans.