‘We made the same mistakes’: Steve Bruce reflects on West Brom’s defeat to Preston

Steve Bruce believes his West Bromwich Albion side made the ‘same mistakes’ seen in previous matches in their 1-0 loss to Preston North End.

The loss saw the Baggies drop into the relegation zone after one win in their opening 12 league games.

Albion’s boss thinks his team were ‘nervous’ against Preston, ultimately leading to their loss on Wednesday evening.

“I didn’t think we deserved the defeat,” Bruce told the media following the game.

“Again, the talking point will be the fact we’ve conceded very, very early and given ourselves a mountain to climb.

“It’s all we’ve spoken about for the last week, not conceding early goals. We have to be able to give ourselves a chance.

“There seemed a nervousness to us, even though I swapped half of the team.

“Unfortunately we’ve made the same mistakes as we seem to have done plenty of times this season.”

Albion had twice as many shots (18) than their opponents (9) but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Bruce admitted he’s disappointed his side couldn’t earn something from the game but is optimistic they can start seeing positive results soon.

“After that, I thought we were camped in their half and we had a couple of big chances which we failed to take,” he said.

“We had enough to get something from the game, but unfortunately we didn’t and it’s so disappointing.”

Pressure has been building on Bruce since taking over at the Hawthorns, with the aim of his appointment to get the club back to the Premier League

The 61-year-old has won eight of his 31 games in charge of the Baggies, with speculation he could be the next manager dismissed due to their poor form.

However, Bruce is hoping he will be given time to turn things around at the Hawthorns and understands supporters’ frustrations.

“The frustration is there for everybody,” he said. “I can understand how people feel.

“We’ve not got the results we’ve needed, but I still think we’re on the right course.

“I still think we can make a challenge of trying to get up to where we want to be, which is of course around the play-off places.

“I’m determined to see it through.”