Mentality the 'most important thing' - West Brom boss Pepe
Pepe Mel is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to land the most important result of his stay in England so far.
The Albion head coach knows Saturday's showdown with Cardiff carries the potential to plunge his regime into fresh crisis or push him closer to the safety of summer and a new beginning.
The Spaniard has only one win from his nine games so far but continues to enjoy major goodwill from the Hawthorns public.
He met with about 150 of them last night in a quiet Q&A session organised by the club in which he acknowledged Saturday's game against the second-from-bottom opposition demanded nothing short of total focus.
Flanked by the two assistants who have helped him through his crash course in a Premier League survival fight, Dean Kiely and Keith Downing, Mel was asked how the team were preparing,
He replied: "We are working, today, tomorrow.
"We need a good system, but the most important thing is the mentality, right from kick-off."
He added: "The most important thing is mentality - to play, to win, to work."
Meanwhile, Youssouf Mulumbu has made a plea for the fans to make The Hawthorns a "scary place" for Cardiff City in Saturday's survival cliff-hanger.
He said: "When I'm chasing the ball and I hear my song it refreshes my mind and legs.
"And I feel like 'I'm going to do this for them'.
"It's all motivation on the pitch; it's really important – and the fans have to know that!
"Even when you win a free-kick or corner and they start shouting we know we are at home and the opponent feels that. We need to show Cardiff this is going to be a long afternoon and we're there to win. I hope our fans can make The Hawthorns a scary place for Cardiff."
