Clinton Morrison delivers West Brom Championship promotion verdict after 2-0 win v Blackpool
Clinton Morrison believes West Brom stand a “good chance” of reaching the Championship play-off spots at the end of the season despite the injury to Daryl Dike.
Carlos Corberan’s side claimed a second consecutive Championship win with a comfortable 2-0 win over Blackpool on Tuesday (18 April) that left them one point off the playoffs with just four games of the season remaining.
Morrison told ITV’s English Football League Highlights show (Wednesday, 19 April, 28:00) that the Baggies should have no problems in front of goal despite the season-ending injury to Dike, and they stood a fair chance of securing an elusive top-six spot.
“West Brom are a good team,” he said.
“Gardner-Hickman scores the winner, Asante scores the first and they’re a good team. They’ll score goals, Daryl Dike is out for nine months, we wish him well, he’s had no luck with injuries.
“But they’ve got players, the likes of Swift and Wallace, that can create.
“West Brom have a good chance.”
All to play for
Although West Brom have been rocked by several crushing injuries in recent times, such as Dike, Grady Diangana and Nathaniel Chalobah, they keep plugging away at their top-six hopes and are now well and truly in contention as the season reaches its final furlong.
The coming week isn’t just huge for the players and Corberan but also for the long-term financial picture of the club, which has been well-documented this season.
However, if Corberan’s side are going to claim a spot in the top six, they are going to have to do it the hard way.
Out of West Brom’s final four games of the season, three are against direct promotion rivals.
A home match against Sunderland is followed just three days later with a trip to Sheffield United before Albion’s third game in six days takes place against Norwich City.
Even though Morrison thinks that West Brom won’t struggle for goals in the season’s run-in, you can’t but feel that Dike’s injury could have a telling impact over the coming weeks.
Brandon Thomas-Asante has stepped up to the challenge of leading the line numerous times this season, but West Brom are missing a certain X Factor while Dike is on the sidelines.
In other West Brom news, Nathaniel Chalobah suffered a “potentially serious injury” in the win over Hull as the Albion kept their playoff hopes alive.