Mowbray keeps Albion ambition in perspective

Apr 8 2008 By James Peacock

No Winston Churchill-style speeches will be needed to galvanise West Bromwich Albion ahead of tonight's Coca-Cola Championship clash with Blackpool, according to Tony Mowbray.

There is no doubt in the manager's mind that his players have the character to return to business as usual and, just as in the former Prime Minister's motivating words about fighting on the beaches, landings ground, fields and streets in the throes of the Second World War, the message from the Baggies boss is similar: There is no chance of his side surrendering in their quest to fulfil their season's main aim simply because of the FA Cup exit.

Father-of-two Mowbray was quick to find a sense of perspective after the heartbreak of the semi-final. He said: "I was making a snowman at about 7.15am the day after. I have always said that my life is about football and family. They are always there to fall back on, if you like.

"I am sure Sir Alex Ferguson was disappointed to only get a point at Middlesbrough and Arsene Wenger was disappointed only to get a point against Liverpool but you have to bounce back.

"If you cannot bounce back from disappointment, then you should not be in football. Nobody wins every match. The players are fully aware of the programme that is in front of them.

"They do not need any Churchillian speeches from me, they need to get themselves ready for the challenge that awaits."

Six games to go; four of them away from The Hawthorns, with the first of that quartet starting tonight at Bloomfield Road. It is a far cry from Wembley, but there is just as much at stake.

"Collectively, the players all know what our main target has been this year," said the manager. "That has never changed. We are in a position to achieve that with six games to go, so we have to try to grasp it.

"Football is all about different types of challenges and that is what the good teams manage to do; they can overcome the big stage and the small stage.

"[Going to] Bloomfield Road is going to be a big test for us. Blackpool have lost three games in 20 at home, so they earn respect because that is an impressive set of results. They are always top of the distance-covered

stats, they are the team that runs further than any in the league, so we will be up against a side which works extremely hard."

"From what I have seen, there is a decent playing surface there but if we have to go there and play effective football, we will. We will do whatever it takes to get the three points."

Tonight's game will be Albion's fourth in ten days so the availability of Luke Moore, having served a three-game suspension, will provide some fresh legs if the on-loan Aston Villa striker is selected.

Leon Barnett has also recovered from a hamstring strain but he is now likely to play second fiddle to the reinvigorated Neil Clement, despite some highly encouraging performances before his injury.

Mowbray believes the bulk of his squad will be used before the end of the season, given the

congested fixture list. He added: "We are glad to have as many players as back as we have, because we are going to need them all over the next few weeks.

"We have just come out of a run of five games in 15 days - but that's the league we are playing in. We are not the only team doing that, so there will be no excuses. I have said before, that is why there are such inconsistent results in this league - because teams are asked to play too often and they cannot perform at the same levels every week. They play eight games less in the Premier League.

"If you played Saturday to Saturday, the quality would increase, but, as I say, every other team in the league is doing it - but it is hard on the players. I was watching Manchester United at the weekend and they picked up a few injuries, which is probably down to the intensity of playing Champions League games and Premiership games. We had the same problem ourselves. We had three hamstring injuries in six days on the back of those five games."