Early effort essential - Robson
Bryan Robson has urged West Brom to produce a high octane performance for 90 minutes and grab the initiative from the first whistle as they look to halt their dismal Premiership run at Blackburn on Saturday.
Albion have been guilty of being slow starters in recent matches and combined with some poor defending results have seen them slip into the bottom three with only one point from the last five matches.
Robson is aware his side can ill afford to give opponents any sort of advantage if they are to climb the table and avoid another relegation dogfight.
“We have not picked up the same level of intensity in our play we had last season. That’s why we’ve lost three home games against Birmingham, Wigan and Charlton,” he said.
“We’ve got to get back to that same sort of intensity level. The way the last two games have gone against Sunderland and Charlton we have not given ourselves a chance.
“We conceded goals early on in those games. You then have to chase the game and that makes it difficult. We are finishing games really strongly but that is not good enough. We have got to start them like that.
“If you tire and fade, then that’s acceptable. We want it that way round not the other way as has been happening. We are playing well in patches but not for the whole 90 minutes.
“But we have got to do that on Saturday and make sure that it’s a wholehearted performance at Blackburn for the entire 90 minutes rather than maybe 70 minutes.
“It’s not a question of belief. It’s about having a bit of drive early on in the game. The lads are waiting for somebody else to spark something to happen. We are waiting until someone has scored against us before we start playing.”
Robson remains convinced West Brom now have a squad of sufficient quality to compete in the Premiership and is refusing to press the panic button.
He said: “I believe the lads are good enough to succeed at Premiership level now and what happened last season gave them belief they could compete on this stage.
“We are disappointed because we thought we would start better than we have. Last season our away performances were very solid and that’s what I will be expecting on Saturday at Blackburn.
“We are not panicking. If we beat Blackburn on Saturday we will be on the same points as them and everyone says they are doing great because they beat Manchester United.
“Everyone is saying we are having a nightmare but if you put two back to back wins together then everything can change.
“Look at Newcastle. Everyone was wanting Graeme Sounness sacked after four games but after two wins they are in the top half of the division. That’s how quickly you can change things around.”
Robson will choose from a full strength squad with the exception of striker Kanu, who is still struggling to shrug off the hamstring injury which has dogged him for most of the campaign.
Defender Martin Albrechtsen is back in contention after serving a one-match ban for his sending-off against Bradford in the Carling Cup.
