The West Bromwich Albion head coach was acknowledged by the EFL for his performances this season, despite being severely limited financially.
- Carlos Corberan has stated that he has no interest in winning individual plaudits in team sports, following his surprise omission from the Championship’s manager of the year nominations. The end-of-season EFL awards recognise the top performances of coaches, players, youth players, supporters, and clubs, among other categories.
There are three candidates for Championship manager of the year: Daniel Farke of Leeds United, Kieran McKenna of Ipswich Town, and Hull City’s Liam Rosenior. While you can make cases for a number of coaches in the league, including Enzo Maresca and Marti Cifuentes, Corberan is clearly one of those who may consider themselves unlucky to have lost out on recognition.
Corberan has led Albion to fifth place in his first full season at the club; after saving them from relegation last winter, the Baggies fell just short of completing a remarkable surge up the table from the bottom three to the top six. Albion’s fortunes have changed dramatically following a pre-season of work under Corberan, despite only being able to recruit players on free transfers and loan agreements. Is this enough to justify a nomination?
Not so for the Spaniard, who remains laser-focused on ensuring Albion earns a play-off spot by securing their place in the top six in these final half-dozen games, which begin with a short trip to Stoke City in the Potteries this Saturday. Football, according to Corberan, is a team sport in which no single person can achieve all of the goals.
“Football is a collective sport, I don’t believe or don’t have interest in individual awards for players or coaches,” he told ESPN. “Football is a team sport, and all I care about is putting this club in the greatest possible position.
“Thanks to the efforts of my players, we are in the last moments of the season with a chance to compete for a playoff spot. We have many games to play, and this opportunity is the only thing that matters to me.”
Albion are unbeaten in their previous eight games and have only lost once, to Southampton, who sit above them, since their FA Cup defeat to Wolves in January. By drawing with Watford on Easter Monday, they strengthened their lead over the chasing pack below, as Norwich, Coventry, Hull, and Preston were all defeated.
“I think we need to be competing in the best way in every single game, because we want to add points,” he said. “Our minds are focused on adding points to see what we can do to help us in the pitch and get closer to the end goal we want to achieve.”
“Everyone wants to win games, and we must do the necessary behaviours to help us, the focus is not on the outcome, but on performing well, defending well, and attacking effectively, which is something we need right now.”
