Carlos Corberan hits home West Brom squad message for busy week
Head coach Carlos Corberan has stressed the importance of a squad game ahead of another busy week for Albion.
The Baggies kick-off a week of Saturday-Tuesday-Friday Championship fixtures with a trip to unbeaten Preston tomorrow before Sheffield Wednesday head to The Hawthorns on Tuesday and Albion go to Blues next Friday night.
Corberan’s five changes for the goalless draw against Millwall last time out last weekend raised eyebrows with Cedric Kipre, Okay Yokuslu, Darnell Furlong, John Swift and Jed Wallace replaced. Albion do not have the division’s biggest numbers – 17 senior outfield options not including injuries, but Corberan remains confident in the group at his disposal.
The challenge of three games in seven days prior to the October international break will be another test of that. Corberan said: “We have a squad still with many options. It’s true even having lost (Josh) Maja as a number nine and that’s our weakest position in terms of depth, but we still have players who can finish like (Jed) Wallace, so at the end you still have three options – (Brandon) Thomas-Asante, Wallace and (Matt) Phillips. Even (John) Swift.
“Still, we have options. When creating this squad, we don’t have a big number of players – we have 18 senior outfield players, plus two young players.
“Now, without Maja we have 17 pitch players and two young players, so still one of the young players is out of the first team squad on a match-day. Still, we have options to play.
“To win a game with your first XI is impossible. You need to have a balance in the XI and on the bench. Especially now, when you can make five subs and the games are maybe five or eight minutes longer.”
Corberan handed 45 minutes to Pipa – the loan right-back yet to make his debut – Nathaniel Chalobah, Caleb Taylor and Tom Fellows with the under-21s on Monday night.
He added: “With the players that I have – I don’t want to play with just the same players, being honest.
“I think that if I only play with the same players I wouldn’t be using the squad in the way that I need to use it. I have many options to play in the first XI.
“Let’s talk about the players who didn’t play in the first XI, Chalobah hasn’t played in the first XI in the last few games and he could play in it, Pipa has not played and he could be in the first XI. Caleb Taylor was not playing and was not even involved and can be in the first XI.
“The best thing for a coach is to be unfair with the team, because it means all of them deserve and can be in the first XI. We have one squad where today two or three players could be in the first XI but they will be on the bench.
“And after, in minutes 60, or 55, or 45, or 75 the team will need these players to win the game. These players are necessary and important to impact the game in the way the team needs.”
Brighton loan attacker Sarmiento finally made his first Albion start last weekend after a series of appearances from the bench. It was a move Baggies fans generally have been keen to see.
The head coach, was keen to explain the importance of competitive options to introduce as substitutes, particularly with five changes permitted in the modern game, and with increased additional time from this season.
“Two examples, against Middlesbrough, after they scored the goal, Sarmiento was going to make the difference (from the bench) to win the game 4-2 – so at the end if you don’t have the players in the bench to impact the game, you don’t know if you will win the game or not,” Corberan added.
“With Maja against Bristol it is the same, we were close to winning the game with the impact of Maja – he received a penalty in the last action, it was an incorrect decision decided by the evaluation of the referees. Unfortunately we don’t have the penalty and we have the player’s injury.
“But if you don’t have Maja in this moment maybe we don’t move the game in the way we moved. The other day with the changes we had other chances, too. That’s why, for me, every player is important and you cannot win one game with 11 players. I don’t see any team in the world that doesn’t make any changes, especially now. To win a game you need everything.
“Sometimes we see line-ups and we think the line-up is the key to winning the game – no. The line-up is how you start, to win you need to start well, keep well and finish well. Right now that’s what we are not doing, we need to do a full game better.”
