Zac Ashworth is pushing Albion’s PL2 side to “get back on track” with a big performance at The Hawthorns against Nottingham Forest on Monday night (ko 7pm).
The young Baggies suffered a setback during their last test - a 4-0 defeat against Black Country rivals Wolves - which meant they dropped out of the Premier League 2 Division Two play-off places.
While the focus of boss Richard Beale and his coaching staff this season has been on preparing the club’s latest group of promising youngsters for a career in the professional game, there has also been the incentive of knockout football thrown into the mix.
Albion have reached the quarter-finals of the Premier League Cup, as well as being within points of the play-off positions in the league, and versatile defender Ashworth believes they have to use Monday’s “big occasion” in B71 to turn things around.
The youngster said: “There’s a lot of big characters in the dressing room and that’s helped get everyone back together in order to try and bounce back and that’s what we’ll be looking to do on Monday.
“We’ve never had a poor run of form this season and it was a really disappointing result and performance last time out.
“Rich let the boys speak out in the dressing room and say what needed to be said and we all had our feelings about what went wrong, but we’ve put those behind us, had a good few days of training to get back to our levels and we’re ready to bounce back and put things right.
“I’ve played in three or four positions this season so I don't mind where I play just as long as I am playing well.
“As a wing-back, goals and assists are the things which get you recognised and it’s big part of the game as a modern wing-back. But as a centre-back I still try and get around the wing-back and put crosses in so it’s a part of my game which I’ve always looked to improve and focus on while being defensively sound as well.
“At the start of the season I didn’t expect to have any first-team involvement. But, thankfully, I’ve managed to have a good few months around the first team this year which came with lots of good opportunities.
“Those moments have helped build me as a player and person and I feel I’ve improved a lot off the back of that. I’m hoping I can continue that form with the Under-23s now so that more of those opportunities will come in the future.
“Playing at The Hawthorns is always a big occasion and I’ve had a few good memories there already. We want to go as far as we can in the league and the PL Cup, but it's always a case of taking it one game at a time.
“For the Forest game it’s important to get back on track because we’re all desperate to finish in those play-off places so we can try and get ourselves promoted too. We’re desperate to win every game we play and getting three points on Monday will, hopefully, get our season moving in the right direction again.”
How to follow the game
Tickets will be available for Albion’s PL2 clash with Nottingham Forest at The Hawthorns on Monday evening.
Season ticket holders can watch the match for free, while the prices stand at £5 for adults and just £1 for juniors on the night.
Alternatively, season ticket holders and members can also enjoy a live stream of the match. Click here and log in with your My Albion account linked to your season ticket or membership.
The stream will begin 10 minutes before kick-off (6.50pm).
If you haven’t yet set up your account click here for instructions.
If you have any issues logging in please contact myalbion@wbafc.co.uk.
