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Caretaker West Brom boss James Morrison has revealed the Baggies’ main ambitions for the rest of the Championship season after top-six finish failure ahead of Cardiff City clash.
West Brom’s season had been resting on a knife-edge for weeks but their recent turmoil has seen the pendulum swing out of the Baggies’ favour.
Tony Mowbray was dismissed after the Derby County defeat, which cemented the end to their play-off hopes, with the Hawthorns outfit now sitting in tenth in the Championship table.
Football league veteran Mowbray left on a sour note after the head coach publicly slammed his players days before his sacking, and the mantle has been left to club legend James Morrison to take charge of their two remaining league fixtures.
Saturday’s test away to relegation-threatened Cardiff City will be a difficult test, with Aaron Ramsey’s side desperate for points to survive, as Morrison has revealed his demands for the Baggies’ last two fixtures.
James Morrison demands West Brom players take ‘responsibility’
Morrison is well-suited to tell the current West Brom crop how to act as the season curtails, after he made 341 appearances across 12 years at The Hawthorns.
He has been tasked to make the step up from assistant coach to caretaker boss following Mowbray’s dismissal, taking the reins with the Baggies losing five of their last six Championship outings.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Cardiff, predicted to be a closely-contested affair by Championship experts, Morrison has demanded all at West Brom “take responsibility” for their disappointing campaign finish.
He told West Brom’s media: “We all need to take responsibility. We’re in a position we really didn’t want to be in at this stage of the campaign.
“I think frustration is the main word you can use for this season. We’re all frustrated because we all know what we’re capable of.
“The fans have every right to be frustrated. It’s about trying to put a sense of pride back into the team for the last two games.
“I want the players to take responsibility and get out of this situation.”
On what the final two clashes against Cardiff, then against Luton, Morrison added: “It’s been a challenging period, but I want everyone to go into the last two games with clear minds and a focus on trying to do their jobs to best of their ability.
“We have an opportunity to show pride, to show that we all care about the club and to show that we want to take six points from the last two matches.”
Reflecting on their near miss at the Championship play-offs, Morrison has also revealed where he believes the Baggies fell at the crucial hurdle, in games that have cost them their season and Mowbray his job.
James Morrison admits where West Brom’s top-six push went wrong
Morrison has accepted that West Brom’s frustrating end to their campaign ultimately left a Championship play-offs position out of reach.
The Baggies have been beaten by fellow play-off hopefuls Norwich City, Bristol City, and then at Coventry in recent weeks with two red cards received across those games.
In light of Saturday’s trip to Cardiff, interim West Brom boss Morrison has offered his autopsy report on where their season fell with the last play-off hurdles in sight.
He said via BirminghamLive: “There were key stages in games we didn’t see out, Bristol City and Norwich – they were tough ones to take. We have to live by that.
“The games over Easter were pressure games, must win games. Again, we have conceded poor goals which left us on the back foot. The sending off gave us a mountain to climb, against a good side who have won a lot of home games.”
Morrison himself is not among the candidates to become the new permanent West Brom boss but will hope to give an account to be proud of during their final two inconsequential league fixtures.