Albion head coach upbeat despite defeat
ALAN Irvine has urged his players to have more belief when they resume their Barclays Premier League programme after the international break.
The Baggies head coach was encouraged by certain aspects of his side's display in their 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, but felt they lacked a little confidence on the ball at times.
Irvine's men take on Manchester United at The Hawthorns on Monday, October 20, with the Albion head coach hopeful they can bounce back.
"I am very disappointed to be leaving without a reward," Irvine said.
"I was disappointed with the way we were on the ball in the first half.
"That was my message to the players at half-time.
"I wanted them to show more belief and I felt we did that in the second half.
"We pegged Liverpool back and we finished the game defending against Liverpool on the counter-attack.
"Not many teams come to Anfield and can force them to do that."
Irvine believes his side have made great strides since the last international fortnight, beating Spurs and Burnley in league games and making progress in the Capital One Cup following a victory against Hull.
Irvine added: "We are in a much better place than we were before the last international break when we were struggling at times to put a fit squad together.
"We have made a lot of progress since then and we're showing that we're going forward."