West Brom interim Richard Beale desperate to feel winning ‘high’ once more

The Baggies under-21s chief is almost-certainly set to oversee the final of his three-match stint at the helm in south east London today – a role the youth coach has relished and thoroughly enjoyed.

He started with a much-needed 2-0 victory at Reading last weekend, but Albion were unable to build on that promise and slumped to a 2-0 home reverse to Bristol City on Tuesday.

Beale hopes for a repeat of the celebration scenes that followed the success at the Madejski Stadium. He stated six points from a possible nine in the Championship is a record he would be pleased with as he returns to the day job with the under-21s, with a new first-team boss expected in the early part of next week.

On the subject of finishing on a high, Beale said: “Absolutely, to step into this role all you want to do is help as much as you can.

“We all know – it’s all well and good saying training’s good – it’s the matches that are the test.

“So if we can get six points out of nine then in the Championship that is a good week and that’s the aim.

“Everything is set up for that for us and the boys will be chomping at the bit to get that.”

Asked of reflection for his near-two weeks in the senior hotseat, the caretaker said: “This is completely different to the week with Blues (as caretaker) because I didn’t make any decisions, do any of the media.

“It’s been good, full of rich experiences, we’ve experienced the highs and lows and it would be amazing to top it off with another high because that feeling was second-to-none last Saturday.

“That’s what the club needs, most importantly, that’s what the fans deserve and the fans want.

“What I’ve experienced and gone through is irrelevant, I’ll reflect on that as and when this spell comes to an end. But everything is around the three points and setting up for what will be a difficult game at a difficult place.”

Beale confirmed Karlan Grant has recovered from illness but Albion are treading carefully with key duo Semi Ajayi and Daryl Dike

He said: “The longer term ones are a week closer than they were last week, but still in the rehab stage, obviously we’re going to be very careful with them, because they’re key, important players and we don’t want anymore setbacks for them.”