West Brom boss Carlos Corberan vows to get b

Posted Sunday, November 06, 2022 by PA

West Brom boss Carlos Corberan pledged to get the best out of Kyle Bartley after the defender’s decisive goal in the 1-0 win against QPR.

Bartley’s 68th-minute header from John Swift’s free-kick gave much-improved Albion their second successive victory under the recently-appointed Corberan.

It has been a triumphant return to the side for Bartley, who was left out by Corberan’s predecessor Steve Bruce after being barracked by his own fans during a poor display in a defeat at home to Birmingham in September and was sent off during a recent loss at Millwall.

He has played a key role in the Baggies’ back-to-back wins and Corberan has no doubt that Bartley can maintain his upturn in form.

The Spaniard said: “Before I came here I knew how important Bartley is and how important he has been for the club.

“My target is to recover the best of him because he is one of the best centre-backs in the league.”

Albion remain in the bottom three but look much better under Corberan, who has made a quick impact since his recent appointment.

“I cannot tell you one player that didn’t play with the level and commitment that was demanded of them,” Corberan said.

“In football, in the end you have three options to score a goal: possessional attacks, counter-attacks and set-pieces.

“The more you dominate these moments, the more you are going to be an offensive team and you are going to be dangerous and score goals.

“We have players that can be used in all the three moments and the key is to keep improving in these three moments and be a team that is strong in attack and in defence.

“The first 15 minutes of the game were fantastic for us. After that, QPR generated some shape, they had Ilias Chair as a playmaker and were more aggressive.

“It took some time for us to adapt to the new needs. We tried to do this in the second half.”

Rangers have stumbled since recently enjoying a brief spell at the top of the Sky Bet Championship table.

Boss Mick Beale, who turned down the chance to take over as Wolves manager, has seen his side fail to win – or score – in their past three matches.

He said: “It was a tough game. West Brom are in a false position and I think we all realise that.

“With Carlos going in there I expect them to pick up. I thought they defended really well.

“They started stronger than us, then we grew into the game and were good but without that cutting edge in the final third.

“I said to the players at half-time that the game would come down to a big moment. We had a number of set-plays and then lost to one ourselves.

“It was a tight game. We were the better side for spells but we were never dominant in it and then Kyle has come up with a big goal for them, which is hugely disappointing and frustrating for us.”