Carlos Corberan pinpoints key reaction that changed Cedric Kipre at West Brom
Carlos Corberan has pinpointed the key reaction that changed Cedric Kipre’s West Brom career after a difficult start to the season.
Having spent last season on loan with Cardiff City in the Championship, the Baggies defender has hit the ground running at The Hawthorns, playing in 14 of Albion’s 15 matches in the Championship as they sit fifth in the league.
But it hasn’t been plain sailing for the Ivorian throughout the campaign after he made a costly error in West Brom’s opening-day defeat to Blackburn Rovers. However, Corberan believes that Kipre’s reaction to that mistake has been crucial to his continued development.
As quoted by the Express & Star (10 November) he said: “I like a lot his reaction in the Leeds game, when we played in that game the next time we were away. For me, that was a test for him to see how he would react. And he was taking risks based on his personality.
“The key with him is to manage risks and know how much he can take, when you manage the risks and increase concentration you start to be more positive in your behaviours. He is one player with experience in the Championship, but maybe with a lack of positive consistency behaviours.
“He’s a good player and has adapted well to our ideas. Is he perfect? No. It means we keep working with him for him to keep improving more, so everyone can grow, that’s the process.”
Room to improve
Corberan was unable to add to his West Brom squad immensely during the summer transfer window as the Baggies boss was restricted to the loan and free agent market given the lack of investment from the owners at The Hawthorns.
But Kipre is one of many examples of how the Spaniard has managed to get the best out of the players already at his disposal in the Albion side, as the defender has gone from strength to strength with each passing game under Corberan’s management.
Many players would have allowed a mistake in the opening game of the campaign to impact their confidence for the remainder of the season, or at least the next couple of games, but Kipre has put the mistake against Blackburn behind him and kicked on in the Midlands.
The 26-year-old’s style means that he will always take risks and while Corberan has admitted that he is not perfect, he is becoming more measured in his decision-making with each game. The Baggies boss deserves credit for trying to improve Kipre’s game rather than chucking him out on loan as those in charge at The Hawthorns did before him.
In other West Brom news, Corberan could be set for a boost in the January transfer window after the latest Baggies takeover news