Yahoo News West Brom notebook: Shilen Patel 'aligning', Phillips patience, out of contract pointer
Carlos Corberan has been pleased that Shilen Patel has allowed the Spaniard and his staff to continue carrying out their important work on a daily basis without interruption as West Bromwich Albion aim to confirm their place in the Championship play-off places in the remaining games of the season.
Patel arrived at Albion's hour of need in February and the takeover from Guochuan Lai was ratified by the end of the month. Understandably, that news was met with widespread jubilation and relief. It's been refreshing indeed to see Patel already so immersed in all that Albion entails, despite being based thousands of miles away - but for Corberan, while he has enjoyed his talks with the owner, he's grateful to be left to his own devices in these weeks.
Corberan and Patel have already held talks since the takeover about what they hope to achieve in the long-term for the club, and more talks are expected over the summer when the club will know which division they'll be playing their football in next season. For Corberan, who enjoyed a largely positive relationship previously at Huddersfield Town with the ownership, it's been a positive development following Lai's radio silence.
Now, though, the day job takes priority over all else at the most pivotal periods of the season.
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"It is always more than positive to have the possibility to have the communication because always, even in a demanding period, you are going to have the possibility to exchange some words," Corberan said. "Let's say very constructive words, because when you talk in person directly you can talk in detail and consider, but at the same time I appreciate a lot from Shilen that he appreciates how demanding this period has been from when he was in charge of the club.
"He is giving us the possibility to be fully focused to develop our job. This is something I value a lot because when you play with two or three games between the games, just to prepare games, analyse the previous game takes a lot of time, but at the same time inside of this it's positive for everyone to have the internal conversations we are having - and for me, he has found a very good balance."
Gone are the days of 'sugar daddy' owners. Patel could be a multi-billionaire with an unlimited budget in the bank, but the modern day spending rules - which numerous clubs have in recent times felt the effects of breaching - prevent clubs from spending freely and buying their way out of leagues, or to silverware. You have to be smarter about how you go about things these days.
"The clubs in football need to work according to possibilities, but that is one part of the job of the coach that can be done by another type of departments," Corberan added. "Our head of recruitment [Ian Pearce] and his department is one that needs to consider every single thing, the league you can play, the money you can spend, the targets in the market you can have, if frees, loans, players in last years of contracts.
"So in the end they need to consider every single thing, that for me is the work another department is doing, their responsibilities, what is working very well in this club is everyone is focused in working together but with their responsibilities. Together because to have the same vision fully aligned, and then to have your autonomy to be fully focused in your responsibility."
Phillips patience
Corberan said that Albion must be patient with Matt Phillips, after the winger's return to the squad in recent weeks; Phillips suffered a hamstring injury in the defeat to Leicester in December and made his return to the squad on Good Friday at Millwall. He is yet to start a game since returning, and Corberan outlined how game exposure from the bench will allow him to slowly build up his physical levels to get them back to where they need to be, in order for him to ready to be called upon from the off.
"What I am watching in Phillips is him giving steps after every game. The minutes he played against Milwall - the quality were in a low level, compared to the quality of the other day against Rotherham," he said. "I don't relate that to the opponent, more to the conditions, and with the game exposure he is going to be more ready.
"What is the difficult situation with Phillips? With Phillips I couldn't do what I am doing with Josh Maja, you need to spend more minutes in the game. Sixty minutes, even 60 with the under-21s, moves you to another level than the small part of minutes in the first team, because it affects your body and conditions positively, than only covering other (smaller) minutes.
"Why is it taking Phillips more time to achieve his level? Because we didn't do the game exposure, we couldn't do it. Why didn't I do the exposure with the under-21s? Because in Phillips' position, with Asante out of the team, with playing with many wingers in the first XI we didn't have enough sub wingers in the bench. The needs of the team is always higher than the need of the player.
"The most important in everything is the need of the team, then after the need of the player. Sometimes these two things go to the same time. I need to evaluate what the team needs and what the player needs. Sometimes what the player needs is not what the player wants, but they need to understand what they need."
Out of contract motivation
Albion, like many of their Championship counterparts and clubs further afield, have a number of players out of contract this coming summer as things stand - and a number of them are important first-team players, too. As well as the likes of Martin Kelly and a host of young players, the Baggies will - as things stand - bid farewell to Alex Mowatt, Cedric Kipre, Kyle Bartley, Matt Phillips, Adam Reach, Nathaniel Chalobah, Erik Pieters and Yann M'Vila.
Clearly, there is much to be decided and much to discuss still. Albion supporters will generally hope to see Mowatt and Kipre kept on, among others, but the club have plenty to consider when it comes to the finances - and, crucially, which division they might be operating in next term. In the meantime, Corberan hasn't been left doubting the commitment and motivation levels of any players who might be leaving the club in the next couple of months.
"I think one of the keys of this team is the massive level of commitment from this group of players," he said. "You can talk about these things, and sometimes these things can be listed as an excuse for a bad performance from a group. From players who have, let's say, a more long-term contract, to players who finish their contract this year, or for the loans, the level of commitment is the highest level they can have.
"Sometimes we have more question marks about the level of commitment with the player in the last year of their contract than the level of commitment with the loans and both are in the same situation, or not, because usually loans have a contract in front of them and those in the last year do not. Does it mean they need to do more things to guarantee a continuity in football?
"Sometimes these challenges help people achieve the best level they can achieve - or sometimes it can decrease. In this team I didn't see anyone affected by this, I saw during the year a very good level of Kipre, of Bartley, of Mowatt, of Reach, of Phillips, of many players that finish their contact. In any moment they have given me minimal possibility of doubts. A massive level of commitment with the job and the club and team they are part of.
