Jake staying composed despite winless run
CAPTAIN Jake Livermore says West Brom are remaining composed amid their longest run of the season without a win.
Albion returned to the top of the Championship on Saturday after being held to a 2-2 draw at Charlton.
They have now failed to win any of their last five league matches and have only a single victory in the last seven.
Leeds, who for so long have been their only company at the top of the division, are having a similar wobble – with one victory in their last six games – and it’s led to what was previously a sizeable gap to the chasing pack being cut.
While admitting Albion are struggling through a run of poor form, Livermore takes solace from the fact there’s still plenty of football to be played and insists lessons will be learned.
“We are disappointed we haven’t turned a lot of those draws into wins, but on the flip side, we are top of the league by a point – we would have taken that,” he said. “We are in a bit of a sticky patch; yes, we would like to have more points and more of a cushion, but we can only do what we can do.
“It’s a learning curve and I’d rather learn now than with five games to go when it could be too late.
“We need to learn quickly but we have got the staff and manager to do that and we have the backing of the supporters as well. They were great at Charlton.
“They filled that stand and didn’t shut up for a minute. We want to do it for them, for our staff. It’s in our hands and we will do all we can.”
Why is it, then, that Albion have found victories hard to come by of late?
Saturday’s was a particularly frustrating result, given that they had the lead twice. It’s extremely likely sides, in the 46-game Championship, will stumble at some point and Livermore appreciates that – but he has urged improvement, starting with
Stoke at home next Monday.
“Teams are studying us and analysing us,” he continued. “Every week has got to be a cup final for us but what we have got to remember is every week is a cup final for the other 23 teams in the league.
“We appreciate it’s going to be difficult. We didn’t deal with a couple of set-pieces (at Charlton). That’s tough, but let’s not forget that in previous games West Brom have been that side who nick goals from set-pieces and hang on in games.
“We can’t knock teams who play a certain way or style. All we can do is manage what we do and we need to be better.”