West Brom set for training camp at England base St George’s Park in July
West Brom are set to head to St George’s Park to kick off preparations for the new Championship season, as reported by the Express and Star.
Carlos Corberan will be aiming for his side to take inspiration from the England setup at nearby Burton-upon-Trent ahead of another season in the second tier for the Baggies.
The manager needs to rally his troops who will feel the loss of Dara O’Shea following his recent move to Burnley, with others expected to follow, due to cost-cutting requirements at the Hawthorns.
The Spanish coach will be busy in the transfer market in the weeks ahead, now that pre-season is underway with the camp at the national football centre set to play a key role in the build-up to the new campaign.
“Albion’s players returned to pre-season training last week and will work at the club’s training ground for the next fortnight before departing for a five-day camp at England’s St George’s Park base. Their first friendly is currently scheduled to be behind closed doors against Shrewsbury Town on July 15.”
Challenge
The stay at St George’s Park will motivate some and inspire others, but it doesn’t detract from the scale of the task that lies ahead for Corberan.
He will need to wheel and deal his way through this transfer window, knowing that others will follow O’Shea out the door yet at the same time, he needs and wants to improve on last season’s end result that saw the club finish just outside of the playoff spots.
It will be a formidable challenge but one that Corberan will face head-on, as he attempts to get the best out of the group of players at his disposal. A solid start to the league will be essential.
The pre-season programme is now well advanced with the training set to be followed by warm-up fixtures against Shrewsbury Town, Cheltenham, Salford City, Burton Albion and Bolton Wanderers, ahead of the Championship opener at Ewood Park against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 05 August.
In other West Brom news, these Opta stats share a grim view on the Baggies following a recent EFL announcement.