Carlos Corberán says he’s well aware of how important three points at Cardiff City on Wednesday night could be for several reasons.
The Baggies are looking to arrest a run of five successive defeats on the road in all competitions in what will be their final game before the first international break of the calendar year.
The Spaniard spoke passionately about the “motivation” the players have to shift momentum and get back to winning ways away from The Hawthorns, while also stating how crucial it is to get a positive return from their trip to South Wales given several of their Play-Off-chasing rivals will be playing over the weekend.
Carlos said: “We want to follow up those two home wins with a victory at Cardiff.
“We want to achieve three wins in-a-row, which we know can be difficult in the Championship.
“However, at the same time, if you want to be in a good position in the table then you have to keep competing and fighting for the results you want to achieve. We know that our last two games have been very difficult and very competitive. We expect exactly the same in the next one.
“I never analyse a team based on their position in the league table. It’s more important to watch how a team heads into the game and with what players they have available. It’s true that under their new head coach Sabri Lamouchi they have improved a lot. They’ve picked up decent results and have won three of the last five games.
“They’ll have momentum behind them which means it’s going to be a difficult game.
“I always like to prepare us as if we are facing the best that the opponent can offer. I think it helps us prepare better.
“It’s a massive game once again and we need to have the highest level of commitment possible if we’re to win.
“We need to find a way of winning games away from home and not just at The Hawthorns. We’re not going to find excuses when we play at home or away, because we have the highest level of motivation in both scenarios.
“Sometimes you hit periods where you don’t win either at home or away and that’s what we’ve got now on our travels. We’re motivated to stop this type of momentum building further against us. We want to change it.
“I believe I now have a bigger picture of why we’re not getting positive results away as a whole and on an individual level too. We need to grow as a team because the more we grow, the more competitive we will be.
“It’s always important to win football games. We’re not going to play on Saturday so the Cardiff game is the last one for us before the break.
“We have an opportunity to go into the break with three points. It’s a massive game and I know the players will face it with personality and commitment because the three points have a lot of importance.”
The Baggies boss revealed striker Brandon Thomas-Asante will return to the squad for Albion’s clash with the Bluebirds.
Thomas-Asante, who has seven goals in all competitions so far this season, hasn’t featured in any of the club’s last three Sky Bet Championship fixtures.
“Brandon Thomas-Asante will be back in the squad for Wednesday’s game.
“The decision was taken to give him a few extra days of training and he’s been training well.
“He’s had time between the Huddersfield game and the Cardiff game with the group so he’ll be involved, which is a bonus for us.”
