And midfielder ready for 'cup final' as he looks to make amends to fans
YOUSSOUF Mulumbu knows the eyes of the world will be on The Hawthorns when Albion host Manchester United on Sunday (ko 4pm) – and has urged his team-mates to put in a performance worthy of the occasion.The Baggies will face Sir Alex Ferguson’s side as he takes charge of his last-ever game as United boss.
And Mulumbu is determined to put things right after describing last weekend’s 4-0 defeat at Norwich as the worst team display during his time at The Hawthorns.
“I was surprised when I saw Sir Alex Ferguson was retiring,” said the DR Congo international, who was not even born when the Scot took over the reins at Old Trafford 26-and-a-half years ago.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to show we are not the team that played on Sunday.
“Let’s do things properly and finish in a good way.
“Every player is available and wants to play so training is going to be hard and intensive.
“Confidence is a little bit low at the moment and we need to build it up in training and finish well on Sunday.
“It’s a beautiful game and exciting to play against these big teams.
“It’s the champions and Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game.
“If you ask me a question about Manchester United the first words that spring to mind are Sir Alex Ferguson.
“United without him as boss will be strange.
“I couldn’t believe he is going to stop now.
“When people talk about all the trophies he’s won and get excited when he’s in the building, you think ‘wow that’s a boss!’
“For him as well we need to play good football.
“It will be a tribute to him in his last game, which he and everyone else can enjoy.
“We’ve won games to be in eighth and we want to beat a good team.
“We will aim to play good football on Sunday.”
Albion head into the game on the back of three successive defeats but Mulumbu has called on his team-mates not to dwell on the past and treat the clash with the champions like a cup final.
He hopes Wigan’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City has shown anything is possible as the Baggies go in search of their first-ever Barclays Premier League win over United.
“I’ve played in a couple of games against Manchester United and thought we could have won,” he reflected.
“I remember one game at home when we lost 2-1 after [Peter] Odemwingie missed a penalty and Gary Neville should have been sent-off for fouling Dozza [Graham Dorrans] in the box.
“You never know what can happen in football.
“But it depends on what energy we put into this game, how we start, how much we believe, and how we’re going to play.
“We owe the club and the fans this game because the last game was the worst game I’ve played with West Brom.
“I couldn’t believe we lost 4-0 at Norwich.
“Heads were down in the dressing room and no-one was talking afterwards.
“That meant we let West Brom and all the fans down.
“I hope we will fix it on Sunday because it is really important.
“We know it’s a tough task against the champions – but the fans deserve us to put everything into this game.
“When I watched the Norwich game again we didn’t do enough to try and win the game.
“Let’s do it properly on Sunday and finish properly.
“I don’t want to finish by losing the last four games."
He added: “We have to clear our minds because the game has gone and we can’t do anything about that.
“We need to enjoy the football.
“We’re doing the best job in the world, so let’s enjoy it from today and into Sunday.
“It’s like a final for us.
“In a final you never who’s going to win or lose - even when a team is near the bottom of the table.
“We saw that with Wigan in the FA Cup final, so let’s show that on Sunday.”