Interviews

Carlos Corberán | It's important to arrive with confidence & right mentality

Carlos Corberán arrives at The Hawthorns before the game against Southampton

Carlos Corberán is confident Albion have the capability to defeat Southampton and reach the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off final at Wembley if his players head into the encounter with the perfect mentality and "give everything they've got". 

The Baggies drew 0-0 with the Saints at The Hawthorns in the first leg of the semi-final last weekend, meaning it's winner takes all down on the south coast on Friday. 

The boss says the whole squad are completely focused on the task at hand and is expecting the occasion to feel like a "final". 

Carlos Corberán sat in the dugout at The Hawthorns before the game against Southampton

Carlos said: "Everyone who was fit for the first leg is fine for the game on Friday. We arrive to this particular match with a good team spirit and good availability.

"Everyone is focused and taking good care of themselves. Everyone is doing their best to help the team in this moment. 

"To achieve a positive result on Friday the players need to arrive to the game with 100 per cent belief and confidence in their possibilities. 

"However, at the same time, they need to know to achieve the result they want, they are going to have to put a lot of work in on the football pitch on Friday. 

"They need to give everything that they have inside themselves. 

Carlos Corberán  looking to his right during a training session

"It’s always important to arrive with confidence, but it’s also really important to arrive with the right mentality. 

"I think it’s going to be a similar game on Friday to the one we all saw on Sunday at The Hawthorns. 

"Southampton are a team built to have possession of the ball in terms of the players they have and the style they play with. I expect them to try and have the ball all of the time. 

"The fact they are playing at home will increase the mental challenge of the game because we have to approach it with a strong mentality to manage the first minutes of the game when we expect to be under pressure and throughout difficult moments.

"Southampton have a lot of attacking mentality and they’ll play in a demanding atmosphere. These things together help us understand that the level of strong mentality needs to be the highest we can produce on Friday. 

Carlos Corberán with his hands in the air on the touchline during the game against Southampton at The Hawthorns

"We know this game is going to be like a final so we have to give our best on the football pitch. I know that every single player who will be involved has proved their commitment to the team this season.

"Our team is together and committed. They will go to the pitch and give their best. We are full of confidence in our ability but we know we are going to have to work very hard. 

"We know our level of resilience has to be the maximum, but we also know how big the club we represent is. We’ll give our best."

Carlos Corberán and Russell Martin on the touchline at The Hawthorns during the match between Albion and Southampton

The Baggies will be backed by 2,000 supporters at St Mary's Stadium. 

Despite being outnumbered by home fans, Corberán is adamant the travelling Throstles can still have a massive impact on proceedings.

Carlos said: "Our fans can help us a lot. We know they are going to be there with us, suffering in difficult moments and enjoying themselves. 

"It’s important to know that you are not alone when you are in good moments or complicated ones on the pitch. We will not be alone on Friday. We have lots of people who will be with us down at Southampton and we have lots of people who we can make really happy. 

"It’s important to know this. I know the 2,000 people who’ll be there supporting us will be supporting us like if there was 20,000 people there."

  • Corberan