“We are really close!” – West Brom boss focused on positives despite form
West Brom boss Valerien Ismael insisted he was pleased with his side’s performance, despite being held to a 0-0 draw at Blackpool.
The Baggies had the better opportunities throughout, with Callum Robinson and Jordan Hugill coming closest. However, the deadlock couldn’t be broken and West Brom extended their winless streak to three games. Despite this, Ismael believes his side are getting closer to winning ways once again.
Speaking after the game, he said: “I think it was a great response from Saturday. The performance was exactly what we want to be. Aggressive. Plenty of desire. A strong mentality. Intensity.
“It was a tough away game and we can take a lot of positives. We need to take what we can get at the minute and getting a clean sheet is a positive.
“We created a lot of chances, but compared to last Saturday, this time there were more real chances to score. At the minute it’s the final ball, and we need to work on that.
“We will keep going because we are really close. We have another game on Friday and we have a massive desire to win that game. It was a little bit of everything in terms of why we didn’t score.”
The match at Bloomfield Road was West Brom’s fifth game away from home without a win, having lost the previous four.
They have also won just three of their last nine fixtures, yet have still managed to maintain third position in the league.
However, fans seem to be losing patience with the squad, as “sack the board” chants could be heard in the away end at Bloomfield Road.
With the January window fast-approaching, it would seem that squad improvement could be necessary if the Baggies wish to return to the Premier League.
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Ismael’s side have now scored just two goals in their last five fixtures, which would suggest the attack is at fault for the poor run of form.
And the boss alluded to that when questioned on what his side need to improve.
“We have to be a bit more calm and composed in the opposition box to finish the job. They had a lot of bodies in the way too, which helped them. We played well.
“We created a lot of chances, but now we need to finish the job. It’s as simple as that.
“After losing four consecutive games away from home we have managed to stop the bleeding. Now we have to recover for our home game on Friday and we will need our supporters.”
This isn’t the first time Ismael has called for an improvement in attack, as he did so after a defeat to Huddersfield last weekend.
West Brom next face Nottingham Forest on Friday night.
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