West Bromwich Albion attacker has revealed that manager Darren Moore asked for patience and belief at half time in the club’s win over Reading.
The Baggies saw off the Royals with a comfortable 4-1 win at the Hawthorns, but it was only in the second 45 minutes that the home side managed to score their goals, having gone into half time 1-0 down.
Speaking about how the turnaround came about, Barnes, who netted the third goal of the afternoon, revealed the players had held an honest talk in the dressing room at half time, and that Moore was asking for his players to keep believing in themselves.
The attacking midfielder told the Express and Star: “We were poor in the first half by our standards We spoke about it at half-time and knew we had to be a lot better and most importantly we knew we had to be patient.
“We knew what we are capable of and in the second half we have shown that. We kept our nerve. There was no panic. We knew we were going to create chances in the second half and we knew the game was going to open up.
“There weren’t really many stern words (from Darren Moore). He just got the message across that patience was what was needed. We changed it a little bit and went to two number 10s instead of one to exploit their back five and I think that worked perfectly for us.”
Opinion
West Brom have been the most dangerous forward line in the Championship this season – and by some margin too. Their 31 goals scored so far is beyond any of their rivals, with Leeds United’s 22 strikes the closest of all the other teams in the second tier. It seems as though Darren Moore was leaning on that fact to inspire his players to get firing during the second half against Reading, for they were left looking a little toothless in the first 45 minutes. It is remarkable how a little boost of confidence can change a player’s attitude and Dwight Gayle certainly seemed to flourish as a result, netting two on the day. It is exactly the sort of result the Baggies want to be taking in to the international break, and while some players will be away with their countries, the remaining squad can bask in their dominant victory and figure out how to stay as potent in attack as they have been already.