Tony Mowbray says Albion have to use the “hurt” they are feeling and turn that into “real intensity” to try and win their remaining matches of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Baggies, who suffered a third straight loss in midweek at the hands of Bristol City, welcome Watford to The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon for what will be first of five fixtures left to play this term.
The boss accepts the side find themselves in a “difficult” moment as a result of the trio of defeats, but also keenly stressed the players have informed him there’s still an abundance of belief in the dressing room that they can achieve their target of finishing in the top six despite starting the weekend five points adrift.
Mowbray said: “There’s a frustration here and it’s huge. I have to try and keep positive and put all the negativity under the mat.
“We have to think about all of the really good stuff that we’ve got going and how the team have been playing and how we’ve been working hard and playing matches on the front foot.
“Let’s get some football matches won now. There’s no reason why we can’t win five games, although the stats show we’ve not won back-to-back games since September. You might look at that stat and think how on earth are we going to go and win five, but that’s our target and that’s what we’ve got to try and achieve.
“We’re hurting so much and we have to use that hurt and turn it into real intensity to go and get this job done.
“We have to keep going and keep pushing. We’re in a frustrating period and we have to stick together and come out the other side. I hope the supporters understand the difficult situation at the moment.
“I hope they support the team and don’t get too frustrated. The players need some love at the moment and they need to know we’re all in this together and we can give one last big push and hopefully make an impact.
“We know it’s difficult now and we’ve given ourselves a mountain to climb. Starting on Saturday, we need to get three points.
“The players believe we can win all five games. Mikey Johnston walked off the training pitch with me today and he told me all the players believe they can win them all.
“I think he would have only said that if the players felt what we were working on on the training pitch and what we were doing in matches was enjoyable. Players can feel whether other teams are better than them. They don’t feel that at the moment.
“They know they were better than Sunderland and Norwich and they know they got on top of Bristol City in the second half. We’ve lost all of those games and that’s football – it can kick you where it hurts.
“They’ve got to keep that belief. I think they believe we’re doing the right things and we just have to fine-tune bits. Mikey didn’t need to say that to me today, but he did.”
Tony also provided a fitness update ahead of the Hornets’ visit this weekend, speaking specifically about Ousmane Diakité, Tammer Bany and Torbjørn Heggem.
Mowbray said: “Ousmane Diakite had an ankle problem on the pitch at Bristol City and he looks unlikely to feature on Saturday unfortunately.
“Tammer Bany went for a scan on his hamstring because he’s been feeling that.
“Torbjørn Heggem didn’t train on Thursday but will need to train on Friday if he’s going to be ready. He’s a warrior of a lad. I’ve had a chat with him and he feels pretty positive. We’re coming to a stage where I hope he can get his boots on at the weekend.
“He will try to train on Friday. If he comes through training then it’s a green light, but if he doesn’t, then he won’t be involved.”
