West Brom maestro describes life under Carlos Corberan - ‘intense’ training method revealed

West Bromwich Albion midfielder John Swift has revealed the ‘intense’ conditions being created at the club under new head coach Carlos Corberan. Preparing for the return of the Sky Bet Championship at the start of December, Corberan’s side are being put through their paces while the World Cup plays out in Qatar.

It’s been a disappointing season so far for the Baggies, who went into the four-week international break in 21st position in the league standings. Goal difference alone separates Albion from the relegation zone, where they had spent a few weeks previously.

Corberan’s arrival gave the Baggies a real boost as they managed three wins and three clean sheets in four matches. The only defeat in that period came when the Spaniard had only been around for a matter of days, and this was against promotion hopefuls Sheffield United.

At Huddersfield Town it was a similar story for Corberan’s team, who often ground out results with a high-intensity system, and it seems like much of the same has arrived at the Hawthorns. “He’s intense. You have to train like you’re playing a game,” Swift told West Brom’s website.

“There’s no point going out there if you’re only going to give 70 or 80 percent. You have to train at 100 percent every single session and that’s what he’s got across. You have to be really concentrated in every drill that we do because they’ll benefit you when it comes to a game.

“I think it’s just really intense, the sessions are really well thought out and everyone’s still learning, hopefully we can keep getting better. It’s not like we’re doing loads of running and coming in from training absolutely blowing, but we’re coming in and, whilst our brains aren’t scrambled, they’re working,” Swift continued.

Albion have come on leaps and bounds in the short space of time Corberan has been at the club, with surprise victories over Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers some of the highlights so far. There is a lot of positivity around and the hope that things can improve even further.

“After three wins on the bounce, having the break is good to go into the training camp in Spain where we’re going to be working hard,” Swift said. “It’s going to be nice to go away with everyone. It will hopefully be a bit sunnier than it is here as well, that would be nice.

“It’s mainly just to keep doing what the manager’s been saying really, keep doing what we’re doing on the training pitch because every player’s getting better. The more training we do, the better we’re going to be on a matchday, so I’m looking forward to it and polishing up on everything he’s said.”

West Brom have plenty of time to prepare for their next Championship game, in just under three weeks away at Sunderland. The clash at the Stadium of Light, which will be aired live on Sky Sports, kicks off at 8pm on Monday, December 12.