Before Albion’s trip to Millwall on Good Friday, manager Carlos Corberan argued that the Lions’ roster did not reflect their league position.
And that was his belief as he prepared his team to head to the Bet365 Stadium today to face Stoke City, who are fighting for survival in the Championship.
The Potters were one of the biggest spenders last summer under previous manager Alex Neil, but things haven’t gone as planned.
Neil was fired and replaced by Steven Schumacher, who has only lately turned things around.
They remain just a few points above the relegation zone, which has startled many, including the Albion manager.
And Corberan has shared his conviction that the reason there are strong squads languishing towards the bottom of the standings is due to a shift in the Championship as a whole.
He stated, “Right now, the most essential thing is to focus on the game in front of us.
“We understand we are up against a good squad in a poor situation.
“And that probably enhances the difficulties for me right now because it is more of a challenge to play against teams that are competing for something.
“They are trying to stay in the Championship, which was completely unexpected given that the squad’s level does not match that of the position.
“In the last few games, they have improved and are competing very well, and we know how difficult it will be on Saturday.”
“The team’s current position in the table can only make things more difficult.
“There is no distinction between teams battling for something in the good part of the table and teams struggling for survival in the bad portion of the table.
“They have a squad where you can’t imagine how they are there, but in my opinion the Championship level has increased a lot and increased the level of the challenge.”
Schmacher’s journey to the top of one of the league’s most powerful clubs has been swift.
He was in charge of Plymouth for two years, leading the team to League One promotion. They were in a good position in the Championship when he went for the challenge at Stoke.
Since his arrival in the Potteries, he has won only six of his 19 games in charge, but they have lost two of their past six, and Corberan is beginning to see similarities with the team he had success with at Home Park.
He explained: “First and foremost, I believe he demonstrated his coaching abilities by leading Plymouth from League One to the Championship.”
“He was doing well with Plymouth; we faced them early on and only managed a draw; it was a difficult game. When you join a new club, you must modify the habits of your new teammates, which takes some time.
“Now I’m beginning to witness comparable behaviours that I saw with his Plymouth team and they are finding solutions.
“At the start of the season, they added interesting players; we played them in the cup at first, and they had added more players; they had a productive summer.”
“What I do is prepare for the finest Stoke City possible, which will assist you prepare. Hopefully, we can compete at the highest level because they are a strong club with talented players all over the pitch.
