James Morrison relishing high-flying West Brom ambition but ready to control expectation
Baggies boss James Morrison was in no mood to play down the excitement among supporters after his team climbed to within a point of the Championship summit.
Bullish boss James Morrison is happy for Albion fans to dream of promotion - but will work to control a sharp in-house focus.
Head coach Morrison said he “welcomes” talk of high-flying Baggies mixing it in a bid for Premier League promotion after his side signed off for the international break with a fine 3-0 win over Millwall.
Buzzing fans chanted about reaching the top flight at The Hawthorns as their troops lashed in three unanswered second-half goals.
In-form Albion, now six unbeaten, sit fifth in the Championship, just a single point off top, a third of the way through the campaign.
“It’s always going to be like that with the level of performances, victories and picking up points against the level of opposition we have,” Morrison said of a spike in belief around The Hawthorns.
“And I welcome it.
“It’s up to me to control it. We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing.
“Success is always the hardest part to manage.
“We’re not getting too complacent. We’ll keep doing the stuff with me demanding more and more of them.”
Eight members of Albion’s small squad jet off for international duty while the other are handed a few days’ breather following a tough period.
Morrison’s men returned an excellent haul of seven points from nine during a testing week against West Ham, Southampton and Millwall.
“I’m just taking a breather now!” Morrison smiled. “I put a lot of intensity into that game, shouting, for us to get over the line.
“I felt there was a lot of physicality and a mental approach with the two games we’ve had previously, opposition like West Ham and Southampton.
“So I was a bit wary of Saturday. But the lads epitomised it all. Oussie (Diakite) running back in the 90th minute with a spring to make that tackle. I love seeing those parts.
“The scenes in the dressing room I can imagine is trying to create that energy of winning. Winning is the best part. We’ve worked hard to earn it, so we’ve got to enjoy it.
“It’s only 15 games in. We know how difficult it is. We’ll keep our feet on the ground and keep trying to turn in performances.”