Baggies PL2 boss Richard Beale wants his side to continue showing their consistent “fighting” characteristics when they play Norwich City on Sunday afternoon (ko 1pm).
Albion’s U21s were dealt several blows in their last outing against Fulham; falling to a 3-0 defeat to the Premier League 2 table-toppers, while also losing defensive duo Alex Williams and Jamal Mohammed to injury.
Beale expects to be without both for the upcoming matches and despite suffering a setback last time around, the academy chief has been pleased with his team’s mentality since the start of the campaign, and hopes it shows again in what he hopes will be a more attacking performance against the Canaries this weekend.
He said: “We’ve suffered a couple of knocks.
“It’s always a shame though whether it’s a player on yours, or the opposition’s team that gets injured.
“Alex and Jamal are two great lads who’ve started the season very well and we hope, for their development, that they aren’t out for too long but we won’t have them for Sunday.
“I think it’s been a really good start to the season. The boys are fighting, showing the right aptitude and energy - which is a bare minimum to become a professional but these days, isn’t always a given.
“We’ve played some really good stuff. Our analyst Alex Silk has put together a best practice video of the first five/six games of the season and there’s some unbelievably positive stuff in it.
“Results will be mixed with a young team, when we’re fighting sides who are spending millions on their U21s group, but as long as performances are good and we’re moving in the right direction, that’s all I’m going to be focusing on.
“I want the lads to repeat much of the same as they have been on Sunday.
“Playing at Carrow Road will be a great experience again and we didn’t threaten the goal enough in our last match, so it’ll be fantastic to have more of the ball higher up the field and get more shots off.
“The lads have showed no lack of fight this year and I’m happy with where their focus is at.
“We’ve thoroughly prepped the boys on mentality and where they’re at. There’s only positives, there’s no doom and gloom after the Fulham match, that was just one snapshot of the season.
“Every single time the lads have had a poor result or below par performance, they’ve had the mentality and confidence to bounce back and I’ve got no doubt at all that’s what they’ll do heading into this weekend’s game.”
