Richard Beale believes in West Brom have quality to move out of mire
Richard Beale insists there is still a lot of quality in the Albion dressing room – despite sitting second-bottom of the Championship table after back-to-back defeats.
Albion squandered an early lead at The Den on Saturday - as Millwall struck late to take the three points to leave the Baggies rooted in the relegation zone.
It looks to have been Beale’s last game in temporary charge of Albion, with his three-game stint garnering just three points, something that will have disappointed the under-21s boss.
But despite the situation Albion find themselves in Beale believes they have quality – as well heart and courage, something he feels are as important that other credentials.
However, he admitted fans want results – something hopefully the new boss can deliver.
He said: “There is a lot of quality in the changing room.
“But for me the biggest thing is what those players have shown (on Saturday) and what they have in every game – but we couldn’t quite get to the levels last Tuesday.
“Heart, courage, characters – it’s only my point of view – but that’s 10 times more important. I’d rather 11 people that are fighting than those that are top players, if you get a bit of both you’re on to a winner.
“That changing room is full of that. However, fans don’t want to keep hearing that, they want results and I get that.
“Hopefully a new manager can provide that.”
Despite languishing in the bottom three a handful of wins can get Albion out of the mire – and Beale insisted they have that in them and shouldn not be written off.
He added: “Absolutely, and the players know that too. It’s early in the season, a third gone, plenty to play for.
“Don’t write West Bromwich Albion off.”
Beale came into the job ahead of Albion’s trip to Reading – who at the time had the best home record in the division.
But Albion picked up an impressive 2-0 win in Berkshire, thanks to goals from Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Matt Phillips.
And it is the decision to switch the former from right back - where he had played under Steve Bruce into a central midfielder, which fans will remember Beale for.
It is something that supporters hope will be continued under the new boss.
Another tweak that Beale has made in his three games in charge – which have ended with defeats to Bristol City and Millwall, is the decision to put Jed Wallace in a central role.
Although he took up positions on the right at The Den, he played off Karlan Grant for large parts of the game and at times it did seem to work. For Beale, it will soon be back to the day job, and he hopes the new manager can bring in new ideas to help get Albion back up the table.
He said: “It’s not about me, it’s about this group of players and we wanted to do it for them.
“It’s about the football club and most importantly it’s about the fans.
“They don’t deserve the results they’ve been getting and they don’t deserve to be in the position they’re in and I’m sure the new manager will give them new ideas to get the best out of them to rise up the league.”
