Carlos Corberan: Pumped-up West Brom 'won before kick-off'

The Hawthorns head coach said he felt his side would win against visiting Swansea ahead of kick-off and the Baggies delivered a 1-0 victory to stay unbeaten and go second in the Championship.

Jayson Molumby struck on the stroke of half-time to earn the hosts a deserved lead with what proved the winner - though the Baggies had created enough to lead by five goals in a rampant first half hour.

Corberan believes that opening blitz was down to the mentality of a dressing room full of home players 'challenging each other' before kick-off.

"The starting of the game from the team was brilliant," Corberan said. "I never heard the dressing room before the game at the level that I heard before the game.

"I was thinking 'wow - they've won'. They won because everyone was challenging the other one, everyone made very clear the mentality we wanted to put in and they put that mentality from the dressing room to the pitch and played an extraordinary 45 minutes.

"In some moments we didn't score with a combination of Grant and Maja but then a combination between Maja and Molumby we scored a very good goal."

Asked why he felt his side were so pumped ahead of kick-off, the Spaniard added: "Because of our ambition of the team, the belief and the mentality that this group of players are creating together."

Corberan named the same starting XI for the fourth league game running and his players - with just one of 11 new recruits starting - have delivered 10 points from 12 in an impressive opening month heading into an international break.

The victory continued a feelgood factor around the club after the deadline day recruits of Mikey Johnston, the £3million signing from Celtic, and the 11th hour loan recruit of another former loanee, Mason Holgate from Everton.

Neither were signed in time to feature against the Swans, but were paraded ahead of kick-off.

Club captain Jed Wallace gave another helpful cameo from the bench alongside less familiar team-mates included debutants Uros Racic - who caught the eye and twice came close to scoring - and Callum Styles. Gianluca Frabotta and Lewis Dobbin also featured late on.