Match Previews

Hard work helping Harmon ahead of PL Cup clash

George Harmon says he’s reaping the rewards for putting in extra work on the training ground - and he hopes there will be further evidence of his progression when Albion’s PL2 side take on Scunthorpe United in the Premier League Cup on Tuesday (ko 12pm).

The Baggies have won their first two Premier League Cup group games, beating Newcastle United and Scunthorpe United, meaning another win against the Iron at Hednesford Town’s Keys Park would put them in a commanding position to advance into the knockout stages.

And Harmon is hopeful he will feel the benefit of his extra work against Scunthorpe.

“I am feeling good. I have had a couple of assists in the past few games which is a massive confidence boost for me. We just keep winning. Anyone who comes into our team gets a lot of confidence. We need to keep building and secure a place in the play-offs and keep pushing towards the top two in the league.

“I have been working on my crossing over the past couple of weeks and it is helping me. I am getting the benefits and the results from it which makes me keep wanting to work hard and keep doing the extra practice before and after training. Hopefully I can get many more assists as the season progresses.

“It was a good game for us against Sunderland. It was in tough conditions but we still played the same way we have played all season. It was a high intensity performance, we were in their faces. It was quick. The ball went out for a throw-in and we wanted to get it back in play as soon as we could and try to take the game to them. It didn’t matter what the conditions we played in were, we just needed the three points and I think we deserved them.

“With the wind in your face and the rain coming down and the pitch not being as good as we have played on this season, they almost get a bit of confidence from it and think ‘we can get a result here.’ But I think we rose to the occasion and thought it doesn’t matter where we’re playing we’ll beat whichever team you put in front of us. I think that showed.

“Scunthorpe will be a very in-your-face team. A hard-working team who play with a high intensity. We need to expect that from the first minute. Because we beat them earlier in the season they will be coming here wanting to get a bit of revenge. We have got to keep doing what we have been doing and build on the performance against Sunderland and the second half against Reading. If we do that hopefully we should be able to get three points.”