Lewis Cox brings you the latest from Ryan Mason's pre-match press conference ahead of Albion's trip to Norwich. Albion head to East Anglia for the first of two away days - with the Baggies facing Millwall on Saturday. Lewis provides the latest fitness update on Mason's squad - while also discussing whether Mason will make any changes amid a busy schedule.
00:00Morning, Albion fans. We've just chatted to Albion head coach Ryan Mason this Tuesday morning on the eve, of course, of the long midweek trip to Norwich City's Carrow Road.
00:11Tomorrow night, Wednesday night, a long old way to go, isn't it, for Ryan Mason, his squad, and of course the travelling baggies fans over there looking for a return to winning ways, of course.
00:20Now three games, Albion without victory, obviously home games against Derby and, of course, last time out, more late heartache against Leicester and that defeat in the middle of those up in Middlesbrough.
00:30Sort of checked progress somewhat in terms of results anyway at the start of the Ryan Mason era, but actually one of the things the head coach said this morning was despite that little run of winless games,
00:40actually it's, he feels, and he says his squad feel as well, it's actually reinforced kind of belief and confidence in what they're doing really.
00:48Obviously, certainly in the home games there, look, Albion have done more than enough to win these games and, you know, Mason reckons nine times out of ten they would have,
00:55but of course work to do to turn those frustrating endings into the three points that really Albion merited and don't have, you know, to stop that sort of feeling of hard-looking injustice really.
01:07And the one kind of phrase from, well, first of all, it was from Friday night actually after the late Leicester goal, Leicester equaliser, but as well today, was that, you know,
01:19Albion need to, you know, in those situations, in those games where they're on top, they need to be killers, as what Ryan Mason said, and need to kill games off, put, you know, matches away,
01:29secure the three points they deserve and they need to find ways of doing that in those key moments because, you know,
01:34Ryan Mason's fed up of saying, you know, we should be that team that are winning, you know, we should have won that game, we're more than good enough to have won that game.
01:41So, you know, he said some interesting things there and, you know, how can you coach that, can that be coached, that feeling of, you know, being a killer in terms of putting a game to bed,
01:51that composure, how can it be done on the training ground, you know, without that kind of pressure and environment of a match day.
01:57So, some interesting things there from the head coach, we'll be writing that up, so keep an eye out.
02:03Team news in terms of the trip to Norwich is pretty minimal, I would say.
02:07We had another little update on the absent Tamo Bani and Daryl Dike, of course, not featured yet this season.
02:14The update is, obviously, that they are back in training, that was as of late last week, but neither will be ready to feature at Norwich or at Millwall on Saturday,
02:22the final two games before the October international break. So, they'll have a good two-week block of training there
02:28while players are on international duty, no championship action of training and that will help their development,
02:33hopefully, to feature maybe more later in October. Let's see, Colin Grant's still a little way behind them as well,
02:39so he's not available with that muscle problem. He has been a little while as well on the sidelines, hasn't he, now Grant.
02:44So, yeah, they're a miss, they're three attacking players for Ryan Mason, not to have available in a squad
02:51that isn't sort of packed with attackers, is it? They don't have too many options, really, as we know.
02:56So, those three are certainly a proven amiss, I would think. And when they are back and available,
03:02look, we know Dike and Bani's form and fitness is still, you know, has massive question marks by them both.
03:07But when they do return, hopefully, and play sustained football, which is what I've been trying, you know,
03:11Ryan Mason's saying, when we're back, we need them to stay back, then there will be a boost when they return,
03:17each of them, obviously. One thing Ryan Mason did say about the long trip to Norwich,
03:22as well as, you know, having to go to Millwall on a Saturday, you know, it's north of 600 miles,
03:26actually, from here, as the crow flies to Carroll Road and then the den, in the space of Wednesday
03:31night to Saturday, it's a bit of a stretch, isn't it? And Ryan Mason called it unfortunate and
03:36actually a bit annoying, really, because, you know, Albion have, I think, a similar situation,
03:40is it either later in October or perhaps next month, they've got a midweek,
03:43I don't know if it's Charlton or Watford. I think it's Watford, one of the London trips midweek,
03:48before an early Saturday kick-off in Ipswich. So, the fixture list hasn't been kind, has it,
03:54to have been all their supporters in terms of long midweek away trips this side of Christmas,
03:58certainly. So, yeah, logistical things to sort this week, really. It won't help, will it? All the
04:03late-night travelling back in the early hours of Thursday here will limit any sort of Thursday work,
04:09really. That'll just be recovery and then what they can do in training, I suppose, on Friday before
04:13they travelled down to London and Millwall, sorry, on Saturday. So, testing it a week. Ryan Mason
04:19certainly vowed it, or me and the squad will be used. You know, maybe we'll see a bit more rotation,
04:23use of players. It's the first kind of midweek league fixture, isn't it, of the season. Obviously,
04:28we do then head into a break, so a bit of respite for those players. But, yeah, we'll be down in
04:33Norwich tomorrow, all the coverage before that and, of course, on match night and reactions. So,
Be the first to comment