Callum Styles is confident Albion’s early-season performance levels will help them respond in the right manner when they travel to Middlesborough on Friday night.
The Baggies suffered their first loss in the Sky Bet Championship last weekend following Andi Weimann’s 84th-minute strike for Derby at The Hawthorns, despite producing an encouraging display which saw the hosts dominate much of proceedings.
Although the result brought a different emotion for Head Coach Ryan Mason and his squad, left-back Styles insists his team-mates won’t be forgetting that feeling at the end of last Saturday’s game and, instead, will use it to “chase that winning feeling” again on Teesside.
“We played really well last Saturday,” said Styles.
“The result didn’t take care of the performance but everyone knew we were knocking on the door trying to get the first goal.
"Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get there and then they score with their first shot on target which is disappointing, but it’s how football is at times - up and down - so we just have to respond well now.
“The start to the season has been good and the performances were being backed up by the results we were getting.
“The last game it didn’t quite go hand-in-hand, but as long as you keep the good performances up, the results should take care of themselves over the course of the season.
“It could be better, but it’s only the start of the journey and we’ve got to crack on.
“His (the gaffer’s) main message was that we have to chase the highs of the winning feeling, but also not get too low when we lose.
“It’s about getting back to that middle ground and as soon as you win, enjoy it, but come back to reality as soon as you lose while remembering that difficult feeling in order to come back with a winning display.”
The Hungarian international spent the two weeks prior to Albion’s first match of September away with his native compatriots, starting both of their FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Republic of Ireland and Portugal respectively.
This came as a just reward for Callum’s start to the season in navy-blue-and-white, and the 25-year-old reflected on the impact playing against “the best” in the world had on his game and how the experience benefitted him.
Styles continued: “It was a top experience going away with Hungary.
“I usually play in midfield and we did really well in the last international break.
“We played Portugal, who are a top, top team with world-class players and great depth in every position, and the Ireland game we probably should’ve won but drew.
“We got a red card and it killed the game for us, then against Portugal we tried nullifying them as best we could but with their quality, as they showed, they only needed one more chance in the game which they took.
“The games can be different at international level, the styles differ to those teams in the Championship, but it’s good to play with the best, against the best, and test yourself against the elite.”
At club level, difficult matches come thick and fast for the Baggies with four second-tier clashes over the next three weeks, meaning plenty of work for Styles and the defence.
While the former Barnsley man has been a constant in the Albion backline over recent seasons, there’s been plenty of change around him with the most of the recent starting defenders; Nat Phillips, Chris Mepham and George Campbell all arriving at the club during the summer.
Despite those additions and departures, the left-sided defender has been impressed by those who have joined the Albion ranks.
Styles added: “The players we’ve recruited in the summer are all top players and have all boosted the squad.
“We’ve changed the backline a few times, with players coming in after the first few games and some leaving, and I think overall we’ve done well together.
“It’s still the start of the journey for this group, so everyone’s still getting to know each other. There’s five games gone and 41 left, so it’s a long old road ahead for us as a unit.
“There’s new faces, some who’ve remained the same, but you quickly get to know the players, their strengths, and how you can mould together in the best way possible to win games.
“For me personally, I just love playing football so as long as I’m playing and helping us push to try and win games then I’ll be happy.”
The next opportunity to try and claim three points, in what is a schedule dominated by away fixtures, is in the North East against current league leaders, Middlesbrough.
With two away wins from two against Wrexham and Stoke City, Styles and the Baggies are wary of the difficulty claiming a third triumph will be against Rob Edwards’ strong performers.
But the defender is determined to reward the club’s “amazing” away support once again - saying the Baggies will be giving “everything” to get a positive outcome at the Riverside Stadium.
Styles concluded: “Middlesbrough are a great team who are top of the league and that shows we’re going to have to play our best game there.
“Both away games we’ve played have been great and we understood the factors which we were going to be faced with. But we absorbed the pressure and now we’ve got to go to Boro and do the same, play with no fear but respect them, give our best, and hopefully we can come away with a positive result.
“The Albion fans have been amazing this season, but it goes hand-in-hand because we try and give everything to the fans, and they try and give everything to help us get over the line in games.
“So if we can both do the same on Friday, the team and the fans, then hopefully we can make it difficult for Middlesbrough.”
