Conor Townsend: A step too far but West Brom have hope in boss
Conor Townsend is confident Albion can go at least one better with a full season under the stewardship of boss Carlos Coberan.
The squad are set for a summer break after just falling short in a late push for a Championship play-off place, a race which went down to the final day.
That effort came despite the Baggies heading into November bottom of the pile in the second tier after Corberan had replaced Steve Bruce. Left-back Townsend, stand-in captain in recent weeks, conceded it was ‘too big a mountain to scale’.
The 30-year-old stressed the club can look forward to a positive future under the Spaniard and believes a full campaign would bring a greater reward.
“He was disappointed we lost the game, as we were, but you do leave yourselves a little bit open when you’re chasing the game,” Townsend said of the 3-2 final day defeat at Swansea.
“The disappointment of not getting the play-offs is hard. We think about Monday, but I think the start of the season – 14 points out of 17 games – we gave ourselves such a mountain to climb.
“Since the manager’s been here it’s been a good turnaround, a lot of good results, a lot of positives.
“It’s been a long season, a lot of injuries, probably the worst season I’ve had at a club (for injuries), some big injuries to important players.
“We gave ourselves a shot and we fell short eventually. The positive is obviously with the gaffer here and what’s happened since he’s been at the club with the performances and results.
“Next season we’ve got to be looking at it with a positive spin, look to rest up over the summer and come back for a full season with the gaffer and not be in this position, hopefully have it all tied up.”
Corberan has began talks with chief executive Ron Gourlay as the club assess plans for the summer and next season now they know they are set for a third successive season of second tier football for the first time since 2002.
Supporters are concerned about financial implications moving forward under controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai. Unpaid loans and a lack of investment saw the Baggies take out a £20million private loan, plus interest, in the new year to cover costs.
Recently-published accounts confirmed Albion must sell players to raise funds this summer.
