James Morrison insists there’s absolutely no chance Albion will underestimate Preston North End when they travel up to Deepdale this weekend.
The Baggies, who sit fifth in the Sky Bet Championship standings heading into matchweek 12, face the division’s bottom side in Lancashire at 3pm on Saturday.
The Lilywhites have four points from their opening 11 games, but have recently appointed Morrison’s ex-Scotland team-mate Graham Alexander as their new manager.
Just like Albion’s head coach is a popular figure at The Hawthorns, Alexander is also highly regarded at Deepdale having featured more than 400 times for them as a player over two separate spells.
The 55-year-old’s tenure has started with three straight defeats, but Morrison is expecting a “big reaction” from the home team and has warned against any kind of complacency.
The boss said: “We’re approaching this game no differently to how we approached the game up at Preston a few months ago when we got a huge result.
“On paper, and when you take the table into account, it would look like we should be turning up there and winning, but that’s simply not the case.
“Any game that you have at Preston is always a challenge and it’s a difficult place to go. Going away from home is always difficult in this division, but we have to do what we’ve been doing and apply even more intensity. We’ve got to use the ball well and be hard to beat. If you take all the noise and form away, it’s still eleven against eleven on the pitch.
“We’re expecting a big reaction from Preston after losing their last three and that’s what you’ve always got to be careful of. Teams who are wounded can come out fighting.
“I know Graham Alexander – I played with him for Scotland and I know what type of character he is. He’s got similarities to myself in terms of being with the same club for many, many years.
“He knows what that football club expects and his team at Bradford was incredibly difficult to beat. I’m expecting a really tough game and I’ve been drilling that message into the lads.”
The Baggies have the opportunity to record back-to-back away victories on Saturday.
Morrison has been victorious in five of the 11 league fixtures he’s taken charge of away from The Hawthorns, and the gaffer was keen to stress the importance of “finding the right balance” on the road when speaking to members of the local media on Friday morning.
“We’ve tried to inject a bit of steel and confidence away from home lately. When we have to go for it we can be on the front foot, but we can also get through periods of pressure, or least we’ve made a huge effort to.
“It’s about having that balance of being hard to beat, but also having the confidence to be on the front foot and go and play the type of football we want to play in away matches. We stick to what we believe in.”
