West Bromwich Albion have tightened up at the back, says Martis

Sep 5 2009 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail

SHELTON Martis claims the defensive side of Albion’s game is finally coming together.

One of the biggest criticisms of the Tony Mowbray era was the lack of progress made in terms of Albion’s defending.

The former manager was never quite able to remedy the team’s inability to defend, not least at set-pieces.

But Roberto Di Matteo’s arrival has brought a marked improvement.

The word “resilience” has become one of the Italian’s stock phrases now and Martis feels the team is getting better in that respect.

“We shuffle across and play more as a unit now,” he said.

“At times last season we were a bit open and now we are more compact.

“We still try to play out from the back but if there is too much pressure we will clear.

“That’s the same as last year and the main difference is being more tight.

“Even when the other team is countering we try and get plenty of bodies back to make sure we are not too open.

“Playing against Sheffield United, who are quite a physical team, everybody just coped with the situation.

“Youssouf Mulumbu is a physical player but he was up against some big guys when we played Sheffield United.