James Morrison staying grounded as West Brom’s upturn in fortunes continues

James Morrison was keeping his feet firmly on the ground after George Campbell’s first-half winner gave West Brom’s Sky Bet Championship relegation battle a massive boost.

The Baggies boss, who has overseen a huge upturn in fortunes at a crucial stage of the campaign, was delighted to see the massed ranks of travelling supporters behind a goal sharing wild scenes of celebration at the final whistle.

But, while praising his team’s performance in ending six months without an away league win and recognising the importance of centre-back Campbell’s powerful far-post header from Callum Styles’ 26th-minute corner, Morrison insisted there was a lot of hard work still to be done.

He said: “We all know what football can do to you if you start getting carried away and, while we want to enjoy the moment, we actually need to work even harder over the remaining games.

“That will be my message to the players. Our fans have stuck with us over a long period without a success on the road, so it was great to see the scenes at the end of the game and share in them.

“But we have achieved nothing yet. A four-point gap to the relegation places and back-to-back wins gives us something to build on and no more than that.

“Again today I am very proud of what I considered a top performance from the lads. The fight and determination, plus the level of togetherness were just what is required away from home in the Championship.

“I would have liked to see the game off and we had chances to do that. But we just missed that final pass and in the end it is our defence and goalkeeper who have won us the game.

“I’m delighted for the fans. Even when I stepped off the bus before the game their cheers gave me a warm feeling and they deserve to enjoy the victory.”

City head coach Gerhard Struber heard his side booed off at half-time and again at the final whistle after a once promising play-off challenge effectively ended with seven matches still to play.

He pulled no punches, saying: “I fully understand how the fans feel because I am really disappointed with the efforts of some players today.

“When the supporters pay for their tickets, they are entitled to expect certain basics from their team, which were not there today. Our football was flat and so far from the face we like to show to our fans.

“I have left the players in no doubt about my feelings. We need to use the international break to rediscover our focus and that means working super hard in every training session.

“We have many injury problems, but they had nothing to do with the performance and we cannot make them an excuse.

“In the build-up to the game, we tried to emphasise that while there was still a hope of reaching the play-offs, we needed to believe.

“I didn’t see that belief in some of my players today and it may be that we have to introduce some fresh faces for our remaining games.

“I am very unhappy and collectively we need to take responsibility for lifting a lot of frustration around the club at the moment.”