West Brom midfielder Alex Mowatt concentrates on the present
Alex Mowatt claims there have been no discussions over his future at Albion with the current focus purely on football.
The 28-year-old midfielder is back with the Baggies after spending last season on loan at Middlesbrough and is eyeing a “fresh start” at The Hawthorns with a year still remaining on his contract.
Mowatt remained in regular dialogue with head coach Carlos Corberan following the latter’s arrival last October and while the pair have spoken during pre-season, conversations have been solely about performance rather than the player’s future. “There has been nothing like that, only what he wants from me, what he wants from games and in training,” said Mowatt.
“On the coach on the way to Cheltenham the other night he was showing me clips of recent games we’d played and he showed me what he thought I’d done well and where he thought I needed to do better.
“It’s good to talk but we haven’t really spoken about anything regarding the season, just instead about what he wants from me in each game.
“It’s been tough – training has been tough but it’s been good. There’s been a lot of information. It’s been good to learn new things from the gaffer, and to see how he wants you to play.”
Mowatt signed a three-year deal when he joined Albion from Barnsley in 2021 and added: “It’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation. It means nothing really, you’ve still got to go out and perform every week. Even when you’re not playing, train hard and work hard. It’s all you can do.”
Albion kick-off their Championship campaign a fortnight today at Blackburn and though expectations outside the club may be lower than in previous seasons, Mowatt insists the aim must still be promotion.
“Being considered a big boy in the league, it doesn’t always work out – you’ve seen the last two seasons, we haven’t made the play-offs,” he said.
“We were the big boys then, apparently. It’s just about working hard, being hungry, and we have the right gaffer who’ll give us the information we need – it’s about us applying it on the pitch. The goal is promotion. I don’t think anyone wants to go into a season thinking you want to get in the play-offs – top two is the aim, every season. Hopefully we can be right up there.”
