Darnell Furlong believes having a “core group” of players who are able to take on the role of captain during matches is really “healthy” for the squad.
The Baggies No.2 was handed the armband for Wednesday night’s clash against Blackburn Rovers with club skipper Jed Wallace on the bench and vice captain Kyle Bartley absent through injury.
Carlos Corberán revealed after the goalless draw at Ewood Park he has a pool of four players – the three named above as well as midfielder Alex Mowatt – who he sees as leaders of the side.
Darnell says he was disappointed fellow defender Bartley missed out, but insisted it was a nice moment for him personally to take on the added responsibility for the very first time.
He said: “Barts limped out of training on Tuesday and I didn’t think much of it (being captain) - I was more concerned about how he was.
“The gaffer pulled me in and said I would be captain and it was a nice moment, but where we are with our results at the moment I didn’t really think too much of it.
“It was just a case of go out there and lead the boys to try and get three points.
“We’ve got a core group where the manager feels comfortable enough to come to us and ask things about the group, or to propose things to us. We’ve obviously got the main captain in Jed, and I think us supporting him in the role is only healthy for the group.”
Albion had the better chances to win Wednesday’s clash with Furlong going extremely close himself during the first half, shooting just wide at the first time of asking following a delightful lofted ball from Mowatt.
Darnell says the players are frustrated to have not won in five, but believes the fact the Baggies sit fourth in the table despite the recent lack of victories shows how strong they are.
“We’re definitely frustrated. You look at the game and table and it’s a tight one. We’re in a similar position with similar quality but I think we showed we were comfortably the better team on the night, with comfortably the better chances, and I was really proud of how the boys played.
“They took onboard what the manager wanted us to do and we did that, but it was just that unlucky final touch, or missed chances like myself and Heggem. On another night, they go in but we’re doing the right things and if we continue that on Saturday then I’m sure we’ll get the win.
“It’s something we’re not happy with, on how the last five games have gone in terms of the results.
“But I think we’re doing the right things. We concede late on against Oxford, should’ve won the game, we completely dominated the game against Millwall, and should’ve won the game, then at Blackburn we had the chances to win the game as well.
“So, a couple of moments go a different way and we look at the season so far in a completely different way.
“We’re still in a strong position so we’re more than happy with that. The fact we haven’t got the results recently, and are still in a very good place in the table, just shows the strength of the group.”
