Matt Clarke: West Brom determined to get back on track
Matt Clarke believes a Midlands derby at Coventry is the ‘perfect’ opportunity for Albion to turn around their stuttering form.
The Baggies head to The Coventry Building Society Arena tomorrow having failed to win in their last four outings and failed to score in their last three.
Clarke admits that run of form isn’t good enough for a team with genuine ambitions of winning automatic promotion.
But he insists there is no panic in the Albion ranks.
And the defender believes a win at Coventry – who have taken more points at home than any other team in the division – is the ideal way for the Baggies to get their season back on track.
“It’s the perfect time to change our fortunes,” the Brighton loanee said.
“We’re going to have 4,500 fans there to support us.
“And it’s up to us to put on the performance their support deserves.
“There’s a determination in the dressing room to put things right.
“The results haven’t been what we wanted them to be, so the mood isn’t sky-high.
“But it’s as good as it can be, we’re not panicking and there’s no apprehension.
“We believe in everything we are doing.
“We want to be winning games. We want to be performing better than we are. We want to be in a better position than we are.
“It’s up to us to find that little bit more. Turning chances into goals and turning draws into victories.”
Asked why he thinks Albion haven’t scored in their last three games, Clarke said: “I think it’s a number of reasons.
“The bigger worry would be if we hadn’t scored having not got out of our half, or if we’d not created the chances we haven’t put away in recent games.
“Sometimes it’s down to luck. Sometimes when you’re winning games and you’re flying in the league, you don’t have to do too much to score.
“At the moment, it’s almost like we have to score the perfect goal. It has to be the perfect move, cross and finish.
“That’s just the moment we are in, but it’s up to us to change that and we believe we can.”
Coventry sit one point and two places behind Albion in the Championship table.
And Clarke knows his side will have to be at their best if they are to come away with three points.
“It’s going to be a really tough test,” he added.
“I think they’ve surprised a few people with just how well they have done this year.
“From what I have seen of them they’ve been really impressive and at home they are really strong.
“It’s up to us to be right on our game. We’ve prepared really well and now it’s about us going out there and putting in a good performance and coming home with a win.”
