West Brom adopt Italian mentality

Nov 25 2009 by Chris Lepkowski

ROBERTO Di Matteo believes some of Italian football’s traditional values have helped West Brom soar into an automatic promotion spot.

Albion had the worst defensive record last season and had a more generous backline than relegated Leicester during their title-winning Championship campaign two years ago.

The head coach made Albion’s defensive structure one of his first priorities after studying footage of last season’s performances.

The Baggies have conceded 15 League goals so far this season with Di Matteo admitting there was still room for improvement.

He hopes his Albion side will show the kind of resilience associated with teams in his native Italy, where an ability to defend is held with such high regard.

“I analysed some of last year’s games,” Di Matteo told the Birmingham Mail.

“The feeling among players, the team and the supporters was shared - you could see and hear what the disappointments were in that sense and which area needed work.