Chris Hughton
Image by: Paul Hazlewood
PUBLISHED
06:00 20th February 2015
by James Hilsum
We’ve seen with recent results that everybody is capable of winning a game and we’ve got to make sure it’s us."
Chris Hughton
Chris Hughton
At his pre-match press conference, Chris Hughton spoke of his delight at bringing Emmanuel Ledesma to the club, reviewed the progress made by Birmingham City under Gary Rowett, and the need for Albion to be more prolific in front of goal.
Emmanuel Ledesma: “He’s in the position that we need and the type of player that we need. We’re on the back of a couple of very good results away from home in hard-fought games and we played a particular shape to make sure that we were solid enough as a team. We’ve been able to do that, but we have found it difficult to get the goals and the creativity that we’ve needed. For those that saw us in the Ipswich game, you wouldn’t have thought there was any problem, but we’ve found it difficult to sustain that and do that regularly. He’s somebody that certainly fits the bill in that way.”
Birmingham City’s season despite off-pitch difficulties: “They have done very well; it’s a club I’m very fond of and I was there for a year. It was a very good year certainly as regards to results and we embarked on that Europa League campaign as well; apart from Saturday I wish them well for the rest of the season.
“They’ve done well considering the problems they’ve had, but I found out that even in the period of time I was there that everybody can talk about the problems off the park, but they only affect the team when the conditions affect the team. Certainly in the period of time when I was there, we were still able to bring in players and they still have done so through this period as well. Off the field, things haven’t really affected them on the pitch and at the moment they’re doing very well.”
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Being more prolific in front of goal: “If we were functioning well on both fronts [attack and defence], then we wouldn’t be in the position that we are in the league, but you have other clubs that are scoring goals more freely but conceding a lot; so it’s trying to get the right balance and that’s my responsibility.
“I’ve been really happy with the attitude of the players and I don’t think we’ve been far away in any game and if I look back on the defeat at Blackpool and the defeat against Forest, I don’t think we deserved to lose either of those games. So we’re very close but we’ve got to make sure we swing those type of games in our favour.”Importance of next two home games [against Birmingham and Leeds]: “It’s a big period for us; there are 15 games to go and we’ve got such a hectic schedule over the next month and the games are coming thick and fast, so it’s important we pick up points as quickly as we can. We’ve got two home games on the spin and we need to take full advantage of that. We’ve seen with recent results that everybody is capable of winning a game and we’ve got to make sure it’s us. The next two games are our next two best opportunities.”
[h=3]ALBION V BIRMINGHAM
[/h]SATURDAY 21ST FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]ALBION V LEEDS
[/h]TUESDAY 24TH FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
[h=3]ALBION V DERBY
[/h]TUESDAY 3RD MARCH, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
Original article