Carlos Corberán says missing out on a spot in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off final is painful.
The Baggies were beaten 3-1 on the night and on aggregate by Southampton, who will now face Leeds in the final at Wembley.
Adam Armstrong bagged a brace after Will Smallbone had given the hosts the lead early in the second period. Cedric Kipre nodded in a consolation for Albion with virtually the last touch, but it had no impact on the final result.
Corberán says his group just couldn't quite hit the attacking level required to seriously trouble the Saints and says he's really disappointed he wasn't able to help the club progress to the showpiece event in the capital.
Carlos said: “I think today, the strongest team on the pitch has gone through.
“Unfortunately we are not the ones who have moved through to the final.
“The team showed a lot of discipline in defence, but we did not attack in the level that we needed to attack in order to play better and be the more dominant team.
“We tried to play the game in the attacking half and we managed to break through a couple of times, but, in general, we couldn’t break their press and they were using our mistakes to create opportunities and goals.
“For the first goal, we have given the ball away in the middle of the pitch when we had broken the press on one side and had the chance to attack down the other side. We lost the ball and they used the transition well to score the first goal.
“That first goal made the game more complicated, but the feeling didn’t change. We couldn’t progress with the ball.
“We did have one big chance when Alex Mowatt’s effort was cleared after we broke the press from the right side. This chance could have changed the game.
“In football you have to analyse the game and the result, but there are also these moments where you can score and change the belief and the possibilities you have.
“After that chance, we didn’t find the right level in attack and we kept on making mistakes which added difficulty.
“The things that we want to do on the pitch don’t always happen, and unfortunately, today is one of those days. We didn’t show the game we wanted to show.
“It’s impossible for me to feel prouder to represent West Bromwich Albion, but at the same time, that pride is also the reason I feel the pain after this defeat.
“When you are proud of the club and you want to put the club in a higher level, it’s a difficult feeling to accept and it’s a pain I need to digest.”
