Corberan demands West Brom focus for Preston test
Carlos Corberan is trying to guide West Brom to their first play-off semi-final in five seasons
- Published
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan has challenged his side to stay focussed as they look to secure a Championship play-off place against Preston at The Hawthorns.
The Baggies are sixth in the table and must beat the Lancashire club in order to guarantee their top-six spot and deny Hull City, who are two points adrift in seventh.
Corberan, who guided Albion to ninth place last term to miss out on the play-offs by three points, expects his side to focus on the job in hand.
"I would love to make the play-offs with West Brom and to enjoy that," Corberan told BBC WM.
"But first we must make the step and that depends on us. We need to be focussed on performing well.
"When I say focus on ourselves, the opposition is part of that; the game is you, the ball, the pitch and the opponent. Managing the game is about those things."
The 41-year-old says a lot of his side's approach to the game will depend on how Preston, whose own play-off aspirations have been ended by four defeats in a row, play.
"We cannot control the behaviour of the referee, but we can adapt and understand the behaviours of the opponent. We way we play depends on the way they play."
'It's impossible to try to draw a game'
With a goal-difference advantage of 11 over the Tigers, the Baggies go into the match knowing a draw will almost certainly be enough to seal their play-off spot for the first time since 2018-19.
But captain Jed Wallace says thinking about anything other than winning is a risky strategy.
"I think it's impossible to go into a game and try and draw," he told BBC Radio WM.
"It's the nature of the beast with the players and the personnel we're going to have on the pitch. It would be extremely difficult to not go for the win.
"We’re always going to try and attack teams and our home form speaks for itself; we just need to carry that on at the weekend and perform like we normally do at the Hawthorns."