James Morrison revealed he did not need to alter his team talk to provide extra motivation as West Bromwich Albion chased Championship safety following a two-point deduction. The Baggies secured their status with a goalless draw against promotion-chasing Ipswich Town at The Hawthorns on the penultimate day of the season.
Points Deduction Cloud
The stalemate extended Albion's unbeaten run to 10 matches and earned the crucial point needed for survival, just 24 hours after the club was found guilty of a financial breach and deducted two points. Morrison, who is in interim charge until the end of the campaign, insisted the news did not affect his players.
"We had the cloud hanging over us, it had finally come out. We knew where we stood. We got the news but we concentrated on the football side. The lads were in a really good place, so we just cracked on," Morrison said.
"It helped us because we knew what we had to do. We spoke to the players over dinner at the training ground, but I didn't have to say too much - the players made that clear 'Mozz, you don't need to speak to us', so we just cracked on."
No Team Talk Needed
"No, I almost didn't need to do a team talk, really. We're nine unbeaten, we just tried to continue. We didn't need to over-complicate it. Just keep doing what we're doing," he added.
Albion dominated the first half against Ipswich, who needed a point to climb back into second place. Daryl Dike had chances either side of half-time, while Aune Heggebo spurned clear-cut opportunities. Alex Mowatt was denied from range, and the excellent Nat Phillips had several headed openings.
Ipswich wrestled back some control in the final half-hour and had a goal correctly disallowed for offside against former Baggies defender Cedric Kipre. The hosts knew a point would suffice, and Morrison's men were worthy of yet another clean sheet.
Momentum Shift
"After 70 minutes I could feel the momentum changing. The players they were bringing on, I could see the shift, so I wanted to get some energy on the pitch but my staff were telling me that a point was all we needed! The players left it out there on the pitch," Morrison said.
Morrison has transformed the club's fortunes, and the goalless draw in the final home game means seven clean sheets in eight games during the 10-match unbeaten run, including five in a row. It has been a phenomenal run of more than 550 minutes without conceding a goal since the 2-2 draw against Wrexham, where the Red Dragons fought back from behind.
The Baggies end their season at relegated basement boys Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough next Saturday, where Morrison has the opportunity to finish a forgettable campaign with an unbeaten run of 11 matches.
