West Brom manager Steve Clarke is looking forward to today’s clash against Reading at the Hawthorns, but has called for composure from his side ahead of the game.
The Baggies enjoyed a flying start to their domestic season under new manager Steve Clarke. They thrashed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 3-0 at home in their Premier League opener, and followed it up with a hard fought draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
They then hosted an impressive http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Everton-c13019 team at home, with many tipping The Toffees to emerge as the victors. However, West Brom defeated them in a 2-0 score line and sealed all three points.
West Brom’s next game was against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Despite their form, the Baggies went on to lose the game 3-0, and also lost striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Peter-Odemwingie-c29794 to a red card in the first half.
The team’s undefeated run had come to an end, but Clarke was confident that his side will be able to bounce back from this and recover their momentum.
The manager had earlier been reluctant to get carried away with his team’s strong start. He however hopes that they will now be more focused and composed when taking on an opponent, no matter who they are.
With an impressive home record, West Brom are favourites for the game. However, Clarke insists that anything can happen in football, and has warned his players not to lose their focus.
"We had a really good start to the season," he said. "Then we lost at Fulham - which a lot of teams do - and didn't quite reach the standard that we expected to reach. But it's just a defeat, it's part and parcel of football and we'll move on to the next
game.”
"I'm not sure it was an exceptional start to the season. It was a good start. We're a good team; I've said that all along.”
"Unfortunately it (the defeat) arrived a bit earlier than we wanted it to but it's arrived and we'll just deal with it now."
Striker Shane Long will face his old club as he is expected to start for the Baggies up front. The striker said in an interview this week that he will not celebrate against Reading if he scored, and Clarke added that he respected the player’s decision and
had no problem with it.
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