James Morrison says his main focus is on trying to ensure West Bromwich Albion beat Swansea City in the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday afternoon (ko 2.30pm).
Morrison will take charge of the Baggies down in South Wales this weekend and is determined to see the squad secure a spot in round four of the competition.
The Swans and the Albion went head-to-head in the Sky Bet Championship as recently as New Year’s Day and ‘Mozza’ says the group are heading into the tie knowing exactly what to expect from the hosts.
He said: “We are well-prepared for the game on Sunday. We only played Swansea two weeks ago so we know what type of test to expect.
“We also only played them at the end of November too so we know a lot about them and the way their manager wants them to play.
“We’ve reviewed the game we had against them on New Year’s Day. I’m expecting them to make a couple of changes, as we might, but they’ll have the same principles.
“Their manager likes to press and they like to play 4-3-3 so we know what to expect. For us, it’s about trying to figure out how to exploit it.
“We’re looking forward to Sunday and representing the football club as best as we can. We’re all determined to try our best to get a positive result and get through to the next round of the FA Cup.
“The lads have been fighting and they’ve been scrapping and our main focus is trying to find a win away from home on Sunday.
“After a win, the feeling always changes. Hopefully we can get one down at Swansea and that can kick-start momentum for us moving into the second part of the season. That’s my main focus – trying to get a win.”
Morrison was quizzed on player availability by members of the local media in his pre-match press conference on Friday lunchtime.
The 39-year-old revealed Alex Mowatt will miss out through injury, but also stated young midfielder Harry Whitwell, who returned from an impressive loan spell at Forest Green Rovers earlier this week, is set to be included in the squad.
Morrison added: “Alex Mowatt will be out. He took a bang on his foot again. He was unlucky in terms of picking up that injury against Leicester the other night. We’re pretty sure he’ll be ok leading into the following weeks.
“Jayson Molumby will be getting a test on Saturday before the game.
“Harry Whitwell will be in the squad. He came back into the building earlier this week and it looks like he’s grown a couple of inches and filled out. I’ve followed his performances at Forest Green and he’s done well.
“We’ve got some players who are 50/50 at the moment, but we’ll be going as strong as possible to try and win the game.
“There might be some young players involved too, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
