Midfielder calls for Hawthorns hordes to inspire Mel's men against Cardiff
YOUSSOUF Mulumbu has called on the fans to crank up the volume in Saturday's crucial clash with Cardiff (ko 3pm), insisting: “They have to know how important they are to us."
The Baggies midfielder hopes the Hawthorns hordes can create an intimidating atmosphere for their Welsh survival rivals.
And he is confident a vocal backing from the first whistle to the last will help Pepe Mel's men deliver a first home victory since New Year's Day to open up a six-point gap on the Bluebirds.
“When I’m chasing the ball and I hear my song it refreshes my mind and legs," said Mulumbu.
“And I feel like ‘I’m going to do this for the fans’.
“It’s all motivation on the pitch; it’s really important – and the fans have to know that!
“Even when you win a free-kick or corner and they start shouting, we know we are at home - and the opponent feels that.
“We need to show Cardiff this is going to be a long afternoon and we’re there to win.
“I hope our fans can make The Hawthorns a scary place for Cardiff to play on Saturday.
“Last weekend we didn’t play as well as we played in the second half against Swansea.
“We want to do everything to stay in the Premier League and that’s for the fans because they don’t deserve to go to the Championship.
“This is one of the most important games for West Brom because this can make life really difficult for Cardiff and boost us.
“We just need to be ready for this game.
“If we focus 100 percent we can do it.
“The best thing for us is to play at home and I hope the fans will be behind us from the start of the game until the last minute.
“I’m confident they will be because we have great fans.
“I know it’s been frustrating because they’re used to seeing us play good football over the last few seasons.
“But sometimes when you can’t find this good football you just need to find the result.
“We need to save this season and build again in pre-season."
The DR Congo international has also highlighted how the Baggies' travelling army of supporters inspired his impressive last-gasp winner at Swansea almost a fortnight ago.
“Sometimes you need some magic," he added.
“At Swansea no-one expected me to dribble past two players and score.
“When a player does that it means he is confident.
“When your fans are behind you it gives you confidence to try things to earn a win.
“I’m the kind of player who tries all the time to go forward and if I miss two or three passes and I feel the fans are not happy; I don’t think I will try again.
“That’s why it is really important.
“They have to know how important they are to us.
“At half-time against Swansea I said we need to have more belief because we still have good players - and we need to believe.
“As an example, against Hull City - obviously we can debate if it should have been a penalty or not - the fact Ben [Foster] stopped the penalty and we weren’t able to clear the ball is because our heads were down and we didn’t believe in each other.
“That’s the sort of thing we need to correct.
“That belief can come from the fans and can affect us.
“And I’m sure the fans will be right behind us on Saturday because they know how important this game is.”