Carlos Corberan drops West Brom selection hint with new message v Rotherham
Carlos Corberan has hinted that he may be forced to make changes to his West Brom side for their clash with Rotherham United in a new energy message to his players.
The Baggies travel to the New York Stadium on Tuesday 12 December looking for their first win in three Championship matches, but will be without Josh Maja after the forward was forced off with injury during Albion’s clash with Sunderland.
Corberan has a number of players sidelined with injury, leaving him with a very small squad at his disposal but has suggested he may be forced to make changes depending on who in his squad is fit and ready to play on Tuesday night.
As quoted by Birmingham Live (12 December) he said: “Fitness isn’t going to be what’s wrong with us. In football, it’s important to react because nobody is going to take pity on us with the difficulty we’re going to face.
“I think the challenge more than mentality is physically and we need to physically recover the energy we need to put in the pitch because if you don’t play with 100 per cent energy in the games in the Championship it is difficult to get the win.
“So I think mentally we want to play the next game quickly, physically we need to see who is able to play the next game quickly.”
Rest and rotate
West Brom aren’t exactly spoiled with options currently, with Maja joining the likes of Kyle Bartley, Jed Wallace, Matt Philipps, Daryl Dike and Adam Reach on the sidelines as the Baggies enter the busy and congested festive season.
But with the games coming thick and fast between now and the new year, Corberan is going to be forced into resting and rotating his side to ensure that Albion don’t lose any more players to injury as that would genuinely be a crisis.
The likes of Pipa and Nathaniel Chalobah have been forced to watch from the bench in the last few weeks, only being introduced from the bench, but with the quick turnaround from the Stadium of Light, they could return to the starting XI.
There may even be an opportunity for the likes of Tom Fellows and Caleb Taylor to make their first Championship starts this season having impressed from the bench as academy products. Either way, West Brom need a win and to get that Corberan needs a side that is full of energy and not still feeling the impact of the defeat to the Blackcats.
In other West Brom news, Corberan has provided an update on Thomas-Asante’s fitness after the clash with Sunderland