Tony Mowbray wants his team to “be resolute, stick together and work really hard” when they tackle Plymouth Argyle in another Sky Bet Championship test this weekend.
The Baggies visit Home Park on Saturday (ko 12:30pm) as they look to build on their impressive 5-1 victory over Portsmouth last time out.
Opponents Argyle currently sit bottom but did most recently record a 2-2 draw at high-flying Sunderland - and have only lost four of the 14 league fixtures they’ve hosted so far during the 2024/25 campaign.
Though Mowbray is aware his side will face a tough test in Devon, he’s challenging them to claim three points again following a good week at Albion HQ.
“It’s been a positive training week for us,” said Tony. “Ultimately that’ll be judged by the result we get, of course, but it’s always good to win football matches and get the place bubbling and bouncing.
“We’re looking forward to the weekend. I expect a tough day, to be honest.
“They (Plymouth) play on the front foot, they’re aggressive, similar to the way Portsmouth started last week.
“For us, the challenge is to see if we can play through, over or around it and give them problems on the defensive side of the game.
“We have to be resolute, stick together and work really hard to try and use our quality to push them back and cause them problems.”
Boss Mowbray also gave a positive update on defender Kyle Bartley, who has not featured since the game against Preston on New Year’s Day.
“I think he’s in contention for the weekend,” added Tony. “I’ll make a call on that. There’s no reason in my mind at this moment to throw him in and take any risks.
“If a player’s been out for a few weeks, I think we can ease him back in. I think he just wants to be around the group, around the squad and dressing room to get a feel and vibe for it again.
“He’s an important player for the team and at some stage in the near future we’ll integrate him back in. But without giving the team away, I’m not sure that’s something that I would consider today with him having less than a week on the grass.”