James Morrison says he was “really pleased” with what he saw from his side against QPR on Saturday afternoon.
The Baggies drew 1-1 with the Londoners at The Hawthorns in what was the seventh game in 21 days for Morrison’s men.
Chris Mepham’s unfortunate own goal handed the visitors the lead, but Callum Styles’ sweetly-struck attempt from the edge of the box levelled matters for the hosts.
Both teams pushed for a winner in the second period, however, eye-catching saves at both ends from Max O’Leary and Pierce Charles ensured the contest finished in a draw.
The boss believes his group are in a “really good place” and once again praised their efforts after a physically demanding few weeks.
Morrison said: “I thought it was a really good game. You could see that we were going for the victory and we had a really good reaction to going 1-0 down against the run of play.
“We’ve had so many games recently, we’ve had new faces coming in and we’ve played away from home on Wednesday night. Despite all that, I think it was just that last little bit for us today.
“There are times where we’re going to have to take advantage of situations like set-plays and we didn’t quite manage to get a final cross or pass in, but QPR are a really good team. When I was watching them I was thinking to myself that we were going to be in for a right game, so credit to them.
“Credit to our lads as well because I was happy with that really. I felt comfortable and I enjoyed watching it. I saw the lads running back and making plenty of tackles. There were bits of quality out there too.
“It’s been tough to pick a team over this period where we’ve had so many games in such a short space of time. It’s a positive headache of picking players at the minute because they’re in good form.
“I’ll have said this before, but it’s a squad game, especially in this league. I’m really pleased that a lot of players have contributed and we’re going to need everyone moving forward. I don’t want there to be an imbalance in the squad with some players playing all the games.
“It’s a team effort and has to be all throughout the season. It was a team performance today of trying to get the victory. Unfortunately, it just didn’t come. The lads gave everything today, which is all you can ask.
“It was a sucker punch to concede the goal that we did. It’s hit Chris Mepham in the head and gone in, but the reaction was there. We go into the big one next week in good form because we’ve picked up seven points in a week and we’re up near the top end of the table. Let’s keep going.
“We’re in a good place and you could see that we were the dominant team in the first half. We had a setback in terms of their goal, but we spoke about doing the right things. The opportunity arose and Callum Styles put the equaliser in. That’s why I played him there, because I wanted him to be coming in on that left foot.
“The unbeaten home record is something we started building last year and the lads are in a good place – they want to keep striving. I think they were a little disappointed that we didn’t win the game. We want to keep going and keep getting victories.
“You saw the scenes from the other night at Derby. We were trying to protect that and we wanted that feeling again. We went to the end today and we want to try and make sure The Hawthorns is a fortress. The atmosphere was bouncing again. I want the fans to come and enjoy the football they are watching and I feel like they’re doing that.”
