Johnny Phillips: Derby is huge – but is it a distraction for West Brom?

Last weekend’s defeat to Norwich City added fuel to the suggestion that the club’s away form could derail a promotion push.

Four defeats in their last five on the road is in stark contrast to the three wins out of the last four at The Hawthorns in the Championship. The team is losing pace with those at the top, with a distant 12-point gap opening up to Leeds United one place above them and a further two points to Ipswich Town in second spot.

Corberan appears as perplexed as supporters when considering the reasons for the chalk and cheese form of home and away.

He even went as far as the simple instruction: “Let’s play today in the same way we play in our own stadium,” as he sent his players out at Carrow Road on Saturday, but it made little difference to the outcome.

With last Saturday’s opponents and Coventry City finding form of late, the pressure is on just to maintain a place in the play-off picture.

With the second half of the season well under way, this promises to be one of the most thrilling promotion chases that Championship has witnessed in years, with so many big clubs battling it out for the automatic and play-off places.

There is an urgency where Albion are concerned, though, that perhaps does not apply to all those around them. The ongoing ownership issues will always be nagging away in the background until a satisfactory resolution is reached.

West Brom’s finances are in a perilous state. Owner Guochuan Lai appears unwilling to help, with the club surviving mainly down to two loans from MSD, the lender whose high interest rates make such borrowing difficult to finance.

There are a handful of parties interested in taking control from Lai, but supporters just want a solution quickly. The owner’s largely absentee status at the club is shrouded in mystery which makes it difficult for fans to get answers to the issues.

There is no doubt that problems began when Lai paid over the odds for the club. Fosun International had been put off the £200million asking price of former chairman Jeremy Peace long before Yunyi Guokai Sports Development – Lai’s investment company – became interested.

To the astonishment of many observers, a £190m buyout was agreed in August 2016. Since then the club have not just had to take out loans of their own but have been put in the position of having to lend money to Lai’s other businesses.

It is the sort of situation that sets off red flags when potential buyers look into any club and may be one reason why a takeover could become a protracted affair.

Returning to the Premier League at the earliest opportunity would make Albion a far more attractive investment. It is 15 months since Corberan took charge on the pitch and he has admitted that trying to rebuild the squad has been difficult because of the financial circumstances.

Despite this backdrop, the improvement on the pitch has been dramatic. The team has gone from the relegation places in the Championship to the play-off positions.

In that time the brand of football at The Hawthorns has given supporters cause for optimism and Albion look a force to be reckoned with.

Yet, it is defeats such as the one at Norwich on Saturday that are making supporters nervous.

While the home form has been impressive, Corberan realises how important it is to pick up more points on their travels.

This is already the most competitive promotion race in years, with three of last season’s relegated Premier League clubs – Leicester, Southampton and Leeds – looking to grab the two automatic promotion places.

Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich are holding their own among them and clubs such as Coventry, Norwich, Hull City, Watford, Sunderland and Middlesbrough are all poised to stay in the race with the resources needed to do so.

It is easy to see why nothing should be taken for granted.

It does not get any easier on the pitch. A derby at home to Birmingham City next weekend is followed by a trip to Portman Road to face Ipswich.

Albion fans will be at their loudest tomorrow, in what is sure to be a great atmosphere at The Hawthorns, but Corberan knows it is just a sideshow to the real battle ahead.