James Morrison admits West Bromwich Albion’s Sky Bet Championship meeting with Middlesbrough is a fixture which “means a lot” to him.
The Baggies go to battle with Boro on Saturday lunchtime at the Riverside Stadium – a venue Morrison knows incredibly well having risen through the youth ranks at Middlesbrough before going on to make 97 first-team appearances for the Teessiders.
He takes his Albion team there this weekend with the intention of maintaining their perfect second-tier record following victories over Norwich City and Burnley.
The boss says he’s excited to see familiar faces, but insists the full focus remains locked on ensuring the Throstles maintain the “standards’ they’ve set in the opening few weeks of the term in an encounter which he considerers to be one of the “toughest’ in the division.
Morrison said: “We stayed up here in the north east after the Newcastle game and we’ve had a good few days.
“It’s been an opportunity to keep the group together for a short period of time and for the new lads to mix with the squad and all get to know each other better.
“Our real focus is on Saturday and coming up against Middlesbrough. We’ve got a big job to do and I don’t want to get away from that. We’re working hard – it’s not a break.
“We asked a few clubs if we could use their facilities to prepare for the game and we ended up going to Spennymoor Town to train on both Thursday and Friday. They are a local non-league team who play in the Enterprise National League North.
“Tony McMahon and I know the place well and we know a few of the guys there. They really looked after us and the pitch was immaculate. Everything on that front has been really good.
“This is a fixture which means a lot to me. Middlesbrough is a club that I feel deeply about and there are still people who work there who were working there when I was there.
“The Middlesbrough fans have always respected me when I’ve come back and I’ll be a local boy going back there again on Saturday.
“I’ve been back there many times before, but the first time I went back there I was all over the place – I was terrible. I learned from that experience. I think the last time I was there as a player I scored and I remember that feeling.
“I’m really looking forward to the game, but, in the back of my head, I know that this is going to be one of the toughest away fixtures.
“We’ve had a great start to the season but there will always be pressure for us to perform regardless of what our form is like. Can we keep performing and keep doing what we’ve been doing, which has been impressive so far.
“We know that consistency gives you a great opportunity in this league. The players have set a standard and I’ll be telling them they can’t let it drop.”
