Albion keeper: Lads still buzzing despite Emirates heartbreak
BEN Foster says Albion will go into the weekend’s doubleheader in a positive frame of mind, despite the heartbreaking manner of their Boxing Day defeat at Arsenal.
The Baggies were four minutes away from leaving the Emirates with a point, thanks to a string of fine second-half saves from Foster.
But Olivier Giroud’s late winner meant they left London emptyhanded after a spirited rearguard display.
The Frenchman’s goal inflicted back-to-back defeats and 1-0 losses in successive trips to London, but the Baggies are still sitting pretty in the top half of the Premier League. And Foster believes there’s still plenty of optimism in the camp ahead of the New Year’s Eve clash at Southampton and the home game with Hull two days later.
“They’re absolutely buzzing still, to be honest with you,” said the former England international. “Without a doubt, the lads are cracking.
“We’ve taken a bit of a hit losing with three or four minutes to go but it’s a tough game.
“You’re under no illusions when you come to the Emirates, it’s going to be a tough game, and if you get anything from the game it’s going to be a hard-earned point.
“It’s not the end of the world. We’ve got a big game coming up at the end of the week against South- ampton and then Hull after that, so we’ve got to focus on them now.”
Albion’s coaches and players begin preparations on Wednesday for the game at St Mary’s after having the day off on Tuesday.
Tony Pulis’s men have now lost three of their last four games but there was no disgrace in slender defeats to high-class opposition in Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.
And Foster, who is likely to see out his career at West Brom after penning a new deal tying him to The Hawthorns until the summer of 2019, believes they remain a tough nut to crack.
“We’ve got a solid team, a settled team, and I don’t think there are many teams that can blow us away,” he said. “It’s only happened once this season, against Man City when we lost 4-0.
“We’ve had recently.
“It’s difficult to take but we’ve got to forget about this and look to the next one.”
Meanwhile, Albion winger Callum McManaman has joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan until the end of the season.
The 25-year-old has completed a medical and will officially link up with the Owls when the transfer window reopens on January 1.
McManaman was Pulis’s first signing when he joined the Baggies in January last year but has not featured in the current campaign for them. some tough games