Carlos Corberan shares ‘ridiculous’ verdict on West Brom bid to qualify for Championship play-offs
Carlos Corberan has played down “ridiculous” talk of where West Brom are placed in the Championship standings.
In public, the Spanish coach is just looking to the next game and the level of performance, ahead of the clash with Stoke City on Saturday 15 April.
He wants the focus to be on showing an improvement with the Baggies now on a run of four games without a win.
It was hardly a rallying call ahead of a crucial game, as reported by the Express and Star:
“My target when I arrived here, what I told the team at the bottom, was to create a competitive team,” Corberan said, as quoted by the Express & Star.
“In the last two days we didn’t show this. Against Millwall we showed this, but now for me the target is for me to change what we are doing to improve.
To improve and to compete better, because this is what we want. (To) be thinking about the position in the table is ridiculous, we are thinking about competing better to win the games.”
Corberan’s contradiction
The former Huddersfield Town head coach went on to speak of rising to the expectation of the supporters at The Hawthorns, to find motivation from the stands rather than the pressure which is effectively a contradiction.
Those fans will be expecting their team to be fighting to the finish line, in the aim of securing a top-six spot in contrast to Corberan not wanting to look at the league table.
With just five points separating Albion from sixth position, it is far from impossible to get the job done over the final six games as much as it will be a tall order.
The Baggies away form is likely to be an obstacle in the way of progress with the last Championship victory on the road coming at Kenilworth Road in the 2-3 victory over Luton Town back in January.
Four defeats and two draws have unfolded in the six away games since then so there will need to be a sharp turnaround, with only two home fixtures to follow, if the playoff plan is to succeed.
In other West Brom news, a key player may not be fit for the start of next season.