Ruthlessness is the name of the game for West Brom

Albion were undone 3-0 at Hillsborough to leave work to do in Saturday’s finale with Preston to secure a play-off berth.

Corberan’s men found themselves 1-0 down to a set-piece goal in South Yorkshire, while the visitors were unable to make a good handful of their dead ball opportunities count.

“In general the team had the ball in the attacking half, but when we reached the last line we had a lack of accuracy, they defended better in the box,” Corberan said. “We could only achieve corners, we used them very well but for different reasons couldn’t score from them.

“We tried (to respond in the second half) but with the way they pressed they recover the balls, they recovered the ball immediately for the second goal in the 52nd minute, as soon as you want to adapt, the second goal killed and started to decrease the level of confidence to take something from the game.

“After that (second goal) we did many chances to see if we could change it but they achieved the third goal with a couple of actions that they showed more accuracy than us because in any opportunity we couldn’t find it.

“They didn’t win for playing with more accuracy, that’s not true, they won because of the first 20 minutes of the second half.”

Corberan batted away suggestions his side had taken a hit in belief and confidence after a run run of three consecutive defeats in the head coach’s tenure, before adding Albion had no reason to be physically jaded early in the second period.

He said: “No...I think after the Leicester game the confidence of the team increased, but it is true that on Saturday, it is not confidence, but about the level we need to compete that was not the right one during the 25 minutes when we gave the game to them.

“I don’t think it can ever be something physical when it is the first minutes after the rest time in the second half. They managed the transition situations better than us and we couldn’t impose on them in these type of actions.”