Chris Brunt: Tony Mowbray’s ‘dedication’ to West Brom players already started
Albion drew 1-1 against the Potters, who led for the majority of the match and threatened to spoil Mowbray’s return after Nathan Lowe’s opening goal in the ninth minute. Mowbray’s return to The Hawthorns was confirmed on Friday night, and the 61-year-old new head coach met players for the first time on the morning of the game and also played his role at halftime in the home dressing room.
However, 20 minutes from time, Grady Diangana drove in a fantastic near-post finish for a well-earned point after Brunt brought Mowbray into the dressing room during the half. Despite forcing 23 shots and being far stronger than the visitors, the Baggies missed a number of excellent opportunities, including two for midfielder Jayson Molumby.
Brunt stated: “He has had a few conversations with the boys today, and he will provide them with a wealth of information in the upcoming weeks to help the team get better.
“Something from my time is that he will do that, he is dedicated to improving individuals as well as his team, he has a great man, a good manager and he will take this football club forward.”
“It is great to pass it on to someone I have a lot of respect for,” Brunt continued, overseeing the seventh and final caretaker match in his interim stint.
“He has performed admirably here, and everyone respects him, so that is a huge plus for me.
“To be honest, handing it on after winning the game would have been more of a relief. Today and Swansea are notable for having more points overall.
Lowe, the newly returned Walsall loanee, scored an incisive early finish as the Baggies paid for a careless defensive start against Stoke.
However, Albion took charge and dominated the majority of the match. The hosts created a few very good chances but were guilty of squandering good opportunities.
“Yeah, a little bit, they started better than us and got the goal to give them something to hang on to,” said Brunt.
“The main emotion is disappointment because they played strong defense for most of the game and we had good chances that we should have taken on another day.
“The manner they played revealed some aspects of our setup, and after we figured it out—which took us around 30 minutes—we handled it quite well.
“There was only going to be one winner once we equalized, despite having good chances in the first and second halves.
“But Stoke defended their box well so it is another draw unfortunately.”
“It was that last pass or final ball that let us down, but there was no lack of quality, effort, or willingness to try things,” he continued.
“It is comparable to Swansea; we had good chances, but the last pass was either overhit or not quite perfect. That’s just the way football is sometimes.
On a different day, they approach us and enter, somewhat like the unkempt Stoke one.
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