Steve Clarke today insisted West Brom must aim for Europe despite the problems that have struck Saturday's opponents Newcastle.
The Baggies lead the Magpies by eight points ahead of the Hawthorns clash after last season's Premier League surprise package struggled to cope with the extra demands of the Europa League.
Their flying start to this season set fans dreaming of a Europa League campaign before a tough mid-winter spell scuppered their chances.
"If you have a chance to qualify for the Europa League then that's what you should do and you should take your chances, like Newcastle did.
"They enjoyed the trips, the games and the challenges against players from different countries. Being wrapped into the whole European package is great.
"If you have the chance to do it as a coach, a player, a manager or a supporter, you have to try to do it and embrace it."
But Clarke expects a tough game against a Newcastle team who are just five points clear of the relegation zone with five games to play.
He said: "I went up to watch them at the weekend and it was a great atmosphere and a really good performance by Sunderland.
"Derby games are different. They are one-offs. I think Sunderland maybe got Newcastle at a good time, when they had just been knocked out of the Europa League.
"And as Alan Pardew said, there was maybe a little bit of tiredness mentally and physically. But they have had a fresh week this week.
"I'm sure they will be fired up to get the win they need to cement their position in the Premier League for next season."
West Brom midfielder Claudio Yacob was today urged to force his way back into the Argentina squad by recapturing his early-season Hawthorns form.
Steve Clarke today insisted West Brom must aim for Europe despite the problems that have struck Saturday's opponents Newcastle.
West Brom boss Steve Clarke today warned Premier League vultures against swooping for the club's top stars by insisting "they will cost you a fortune."
Yes a few will be leaving but doesn't that just give chance for our ever improving youth players to break through? Or possibly go out on loan a la Thorne and Dawson.
Nice one liner towards the end, unless of course progress IS our tradition, as has been the tune for the past 3-4 seasons, I think this close seasons actions i.e. the ratio of players leaving to players staying will speak volumes as to the Board's ambitions (I don't like using the word 'Board' as a fan, it is ugly and often followed by trash talk) but in this case it will be a clear cut sign to all who pay attention. Much to my approval the WBA Board.....*shudder*.....have always worked in the dark and kept things close to their chest, but we may well see their work manifest itself physically in the head count of those coming and going, interesting times. It's great to be a Baggie! BOING BOING!
Adam, I think Albion operate with a 23 or perhaps 22-player squad. With the injuries, suspensions and AWOLingie it's more like 16-18 player squad.
As usual, next season will depend on JP, budget and availability of the 'right' players. Not sure SC will have a 25 player squad to work with next season but you never know, especially with more revenue from media/TV coming in. However, I think SC will need a full squad for a European campaign.
We all know being in Europe attracts top players, so that must be our aim as it helps to hold on to the top players already at our club. Europe gets the fans buzzing with excitement. Bring it on to out patch. Onward and upward with the BAGGIES.
Be good to get back to how we were playing then...good shape, clever movement, crisp passing and attack-minded. We looked dangerous going forward.
If we get the right players in this summer and get a good replacement for Peter and 2 good wingers we could make it! Hate seeing Fortune,Dozza ect play out wide. Square pegs in round holes!
I was fortunate enough ( and old enough ) to see Albion play European campaigns during the 60s and 70s, and at a time when the vast majority of players in the English game were British, it was exciting to see a few 'star' names from other countries playing on The Hawthorns pitch.
Well some of our younger fans haven't had the chance to see us involved in these tournaments, but it's just crossed my mind that we now have many of the world's top footballers every season at the Albion ground in league games!!
Anyway, I don't wanna over-simplify, but the way I see it we've made steady progress over the last few seasons, and the aim must be to strengthen the club, and strengthen our foothold in the premiership - if you focus on doing that, then European football or winning trophies may eventually come as a reward for your efforts, but we still need to get our priorities right, and as the Goddess Doris Day once said-
I agree Adam h. Fifteen years ago Albion in Europe was only going to happen if war broke out. Even three years ago it was almost unthinkable. The cup competitions are very much a lottery so a European campaign would be a reward for our very patient fans that stuck with the club through the yoyo years.
I think that a club of our size would need luck with injuries to survive a season in Europe. If we have a large squad we complain if Steve keeps rotating players and if we keep the same eleven the ones not playing become unsettled so it's a Catch 22 situation.
One other thing. I don't often congratulate Villa for anything but what smashing news that Stylian Petrov is on the mend.
Albion are going to need 2 proven strikers next season. Fortune and iceberg can go thanks. We are having the time of our lives but we have been here before. In 79 we went top and still got no credit anywhere outside this area. Clarke has yet to deal with Jeremy peace and the turnstile on his wallet..! The summer will be the same old same old but if we can get another nugget or two like Yacob we will be fine. Fingers crossed.
If we won all our remaining games, we could end the season on 59 points. Even if all the teams above us lost their remaining games, can someone explain to me how we could get into Europe??
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