West Brom's Alex Palmer reckons Norwich clash could be crucial for long winter months
Goalkeeper Alex Palmer has challenged Albion to use Saturday's clash against Norwich to "set the tone" at The Hawthorns.
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The Baggies resume their Championship campaign against the Canaries as Carlos Corberan's men seek to build on an important victory prior to the international break.
Home has been a difficult hunting ground at times this season for Albion, with goals in front of their own supporters hard to come by.
With international football put to bed until March, there are 11 league fixtures to come between Saturday and early January as a tight, competitive Championship settles into its mid-point. And No.1 Palmer wants to see the side lay down a marker for the weeks and months ahead with the best possible start at home to the Canaries.
Palmer said: “We’ve got a chance on Saturday at home to Norwich to set the tone for the next few months. We’d love to pick up three points at The Hawthorns and set the standard for the winter.
“If you look at the Championship, it’s crazy. We had six draws in a row before we went to Hull and won, yet we’re still in and around the play-off spots.
“If you look at how the league is this year, it’s really tight and it would appear teams are all taking points off each other. I think that’s why we’re a bit frustrated because if we had managed to turn a few of those draws into victories, then we would have been right up there.
“Games come thick and fast now. You have a good week in this league at this time of year and you can claw back so much ground. You have a bad week, and teams can get away from you."
Albion have scored just twice - and only conceded one - in seven home games. By contrast they have a league-leading tally of 14 goals away from home.
An eight-game winless run, featuring six successive draws, drew the ire of some supporters as a table-topping start to the campaign slipped away.
Corberan's side snapped that sequence with a crucial victory at Hull just before the break and Norwich, themselves winless in six, are the next side bidding to frustrate The Hawthorns faithful.
“We’re coming into a four-month spell now where it’s game after game and it’s physically demanding," Palmer said. "The winter months in the Championship demand so much of you and if you’re not up to it, then you’ll find yourself slipping down the division."
