Jed Wallace confident West Brom can 'do something' and avoid derby hangover

Albion know all too well about that, with their must fruitful run in recent times coinciding with them winning the Championship in 2008.

On the other hand, a defeat in the competition can sometimes have a negative impact on a campaign and stunt any built-up momentum.

But Albion skipper Jed Wallace is hoping that isn’t the case and his side can regroup and go again – starting with Birmingham City at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

Asked about preventing the Black Country derby defeat against Wolves on Sunday from derailing any momentum in the league, Wallace said: “I think so (not stop momentum) but we also need to accept things should’ve been done better on Sunday.

“You go away disappointed because we had an opportunity to do something but didn’t take those moments.”

The positive to come from Sunday’s defeat was the fact that Albion more than matched their Premier League opponents – and with a clinical edge in front of goal things could have been very different.

That was one thing missing from – another was a startling lack of depth.

Substitutes Reece Hall, Fenton Heard and Harry Whitwell are yet to make a league appearance, with the latter only being handed their debuts in the third-round victory over non-league Aldershot earlier in the month.

Caleb Taylor has only played a handful of senior games for the club, as has Jovan Malcolm who recently returned from a loan spell at League One side Cheltenham Town.

Corberan was able to call on young flyer Tom Fellows from the bench, a player who has been attracting Premier League attention for his displays in his breakthrough Baggies season.

In total, Corberan was without nine senior players heading into the derby, which underlines the challenges he and Albion are facing at the moment. Wallace insisted the impact of a large number of absentees was clear on Sunday with the changes that were made.

However, with one of the ‘best managers in the division’, and the support they received on Sunday, they can achieve something this season despite the challenges they’re facing with personnel.

He said: “Every team has injuries, probably this season more than ever, so there’s no excuse on injuries, we still had opportunities and dictated enough of the game to get something from it.

“But you take Dike, Matt Phillips, Weimann, Maja, the list goes on, out of any Championship squad, you’re going to feel it.

“You probably see towards the end of Sunday, we’re bringing on Caleb and the likes of Erik, that’s where the squad is at the moment in terms of injuries. That’s nothing against those boys it’s just when you’re chasing the game, we’ve seen this year we’ve been able to bring on Maja, Swift, myself, Fellows and it can change the game for 20 minutes.

“We know where we are but there’s no excuses, we’ve got a very united squad and one of the best managers in the division and with the fans behind us, like against Wolves, we can achieve something in the division.

“I’m kind of glad we’ve got Birmingham rather than a game that’s not as exciting, I’m sure the fans will get behind us again and we can get a better result.”