Tony Mowbray insists earning three points at home to his former club Sunderland would be the perfect way to respond to last weekend’s loss at Norwich City and kick-off the remaining seven fixtures.
The Black Cats, who Mowbray managed between August 2022 and December 2023, head to The Hawthorns for a lunchtime clash against the Baggies on Saturday (ko 12.30pm).
Albion were left frustrated in their most recent second-tier match, slipping to a 1-0 defeat in the final minute in Norfolk.
However, the boss is adamant that result is now out of his side’s system and says the players are fully focused on securing the victories required to finish inside the top six of the division.
Tony said: “We know the challenge that lies ahead of us and we need to be up for it.
“We think we’re a good side that can go and win football matches and hopefully we can show that on Saturday, and plenty of other times before the season is finished.
“We were frustrated last weekend, but that’s gone now. We have seven remaining matches and we need to make sure that we’re getting better results than the teams around us.
“We are completely focused on what we need to do and we know what is required of us.
“Three points on Saturday would be the perfect way to respond and the perfect way to make our fans happy.”
Speaking specifically about the visitors, Mowbray added: “I have a lot of respect for Sunderland as a football club.
“I want to win football matches with West Bromwich Albion, regardless of who we are playing. The opponents make no difference to how much I want to win games.
“You can give your own players an insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition players and I can do that through my own experience of working at Sunderland, as well as studying them in clips.
“I think Sunderland have a lot of really good players. When you watch the sports channels on the television, a lot of people talk about Premier League clubs coveting their players.
“They’re doing really well in the league and most of their players are young lads. Hopefully we can provide a good insight of what Sunderland can do and what they are going to bring to The Hawthorns on Saturday.
“We need to be very competitive on the day. We need to be that way to get a positive result.
“Regis Le Bris took over in the summer and he’s got some really good players to work with. He’s done an amazing job to keep them on the right track and to let them play. He let’s their talent flourish.
“Sometimes when you’re managing a club as big as Sunderland it can almost feel like you’re not in control because there’s so much noise around everything and every decision you make, yet, he’s done a good job at keeping things stable.
“The players he has there have continued to grow and develop and Sunderland are in a good place.”
