Albion’s PL2 side will take on title-chasing Southampton at Palm Training Ground on Thursday afternoon, and Deon Burton says the young Baggies will go into the clash with a positive mindset (ko 3pm).
Last time out the Throstles managed a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United in a game that the Baggies were unfortunate not to win after an impressive performance.
And it will be up to Albion to derail Southampton’s Premier League 2 Division Two promotion hopes. The Saints are currently one point off the top two, but have a game in hand which means if they beat the Baggies they will go top.
“They are going to be physical and in our faces,” said Deon.
“They are up the top of the league for a reason. They have got a big under-23s squad so they probably train together every day so they know each other and what they are good at.
“It’s going to be a tough test for us. But off the back of playing Man United at Old Trafford and getting a result - and in my opinion maybe we could have come away with three points - it is good to be on a positive foot going into the game.
“I’ve enjoyed seeing how the team have developed from the first half of the season into the second half of the season.
“They all seem to be developing and growing and taking on information and using it to the best of their ability and they are getting their rewards as individuals and as a team.”
“We started slow. In their big stadium it took our players a while to get used to the dimensions and knowing their boundaries, but once we got into the game after the first 20 minutes the boys grew into it and credit to them they did everything that was asked of them.
“You could see towards the end of the game their legs had gone and we were kicking on. I think if we had an extra five minutes of the game we could have nicked it.”
