“We need to do better.”  Frustrated Carlos Corberan emphasizes areas West Brom’s need to improve:

Carlos Corberan left frustrated at West Brom defeat, details what must happen now.

In the 3-1 midlands derby loss to Birmingham City, Carlos Corberan expressed his frustration at his West Brom team’s inability to capitalize on its opportunities. He also stated that his team needs to improve moving forward.

The decision to give Birmingham a penalty, which appeared to stun everyone in St. Andrew’s and allowed the Blues to tie the score, plainly irked the manager.

Even though they were down 2-1, West Brom continued to control play in the second half, but they only managed to produce one genuine opportunity, as Darnell Furlong’s shot from just six yards out totally missed the goal.

Speaking to the Express and Star on 9 October, the boss shared his frustrations from the result: “I feel upset and difficult to manage the frustration that happened and maybe we would have lost anyway (if not for the penalty), maybe we lose another way and talk about a different game, but we need to talk about us.

“Still after this (penalty) action we have the opportunity, a clear chance with the finish of Furlong, it’s true we need to be better in the attacking box, it’s something we can work on.

“We can work in the attacking half managing the ball because we didn’t manage it well enough in the first half. I cannot tell you many things we should’ve done better.”
Struggling to deal with a depleted squad

While the 4-0 victory away at Deepdale was a fantastic result for the Baggies, it appears to have simply papered over the cracks when it comes to the glaring weaknesses in this squad, with the lack of a goalscoring threat becoming an issue in the absence of Josh Maja and Daryl Dike.
Brandon Thomas-Asante, the main recognised number nine in Corberan’s squad, was left on the bench again in favour of Jed Wallace after the latter’s performance against Preston, but the change was not as effective this time around.

Thomas-Asante – who did start the win over Sheffield Wednesday following the Preston rout – is in his own dry spell in front of goal, however, having not scored since the 4-2 victory over Middlesbrough on 26 August, which will be an additional concern for the Baggies.

 

Corberan’s demands were clear, his side must improve in front of goal. He will be hoping the international break gives him time to establish some confidence in attack while providing some much-needed time as injured players approach their return.