By Dan Carter

13th Nov, 2023 | 3:40pm

Carlos Corberan searches for 'perfection' at West Brom after Southampton defeat

Carlos Corberan has said that he is searching for “perfection” in his West Brom side, following their defeat to Southampton on Saturday 11 November.

The Baggies were impressive at St Mary’s on Saturday but didn’t have enough moments of quality to bring any points back to The Hawthorns in what was their first league defeat since the 6 October, against Birmingham City.

While Corberan admitted that he was happy with his side’s performance, the Spanish coach admitted that he now has to find a way of making his side reach their maximum potential to have a chance of winning against the Championship’s best sides.

As quoted by the Express & Star (13 November) he said: “I am clear and conscious about how we did very good things because I don’t have this frustration. A frustration would be after watching the team doing things to deserve something else.

“But, like I told you my mind now – just challenges me to find the perfection. That is football, and in football, I know to achieve perfection is not easy, but when you play against teams with this level of players, if you don’t achieve (perfection) then it is difficult to win.”

Time to kick on

It was a testament to West Brom’s performance against Southampton on Saturday that they were applauded from the field by their travelling supporters. Even if they didn’t take all three points, there was plenty to be positive about from a Baggies’ perspective.

Few expected Corberan’s side to be as competitive as they have been in the early stages of the Championship season, but they appear to be well and truly in the race for the play-off positions, even if there is still a very long way to go.

But results against the other teams in and around the top six could prove to be crucial, especially considering how many teams are in the hunt for the play-off positions. Corberan must find the “perfection” in this side quickly to have any hope of sustaining this challenge for the remainder of the season.

Hopefully, the return of some crucial players over the next few weeks and months, such as John Swift, Josh Maja and Jeremy Sarmiento will provide a welcome boost and the Baggies can kick on from this excellent start to the campaign.

In other West Brom news, Slaven Bilic has reflected on his time with the Baggies and called Albion a “massive club”