Conor Townsend says regular pre-season friendlies and intense training sessions will help Albion be “fit and firing” for the start of the Sky Bet Championship.
The Baggies completed their fourth official practice match on Saturday afternoon, drawing 1-1 at Crewe Alexandra following previous clashes with Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Northampton Town.
Townsend played the full 90 minutes at the Mornflake Stadium and insists it’s vital to get as much football into the legs as possible at this time of year.
The defender said: “It was a good runout for the lads in very hot conditions which makes it a lot tougher on the bodies.
“It’s all about fitness at the minute and getting in tune with each other.
“I thought there was plenty of decent passages of play from us, especially in the first half.
“We’ve got another game on Tuesday and then our final friendly next Saturday, so we’re building towards that first game at Middlesbrough.
“There was a lot of good stuff in the performance. We created a lot of good chances once again.
“Coming into the season we know that we’ll have to start taking them, but it’s encouraging to see us making those chances.
“You can see the new boys have linked-up for the goal and they’ve both settled in really well.
“They look like they're both going to be really good additions. You can see the quality they’ve got.
“We need to be fit and firing so these games and the tough sessions in training are really helping us.”
