West Brom: James Morrison says Baggies won't the same mistakes as last time
Aug 9 2010 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail
JAMES Morrison believes Albion will have learnt their lessons from two seasons ago as they prepare for their Premier League opener.
The Baggies travel to Chelsea on Saturday for their televised game.
Morrison, a survivor of the side relegated in 2008/09, feels Roberto Di Matteo’s men are well drilled for the demands of the top flight.
And the Scotland international believes the team will flourish, rather than flounder, once the competitive games begin.
“If you look at our track record it’s not the best and as a group of players we are looking to put that right,” said Morrison.
“There are a lot of players here who don’t want to be in the Championship so we are eager to stay up.
“I think we will be more solid and there were other faults we had two years ago.
“We don’t want to concede late goals like we did and not be able to get back into games.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of staying up, keeping clean sheets and being solid.
“I don’t think you can compare too much to last time but we are in good shape and we’re ready to go now.
“It’s been a long six weeks and it’s been hard work, so we’ve got to take that into the first couple of games and use that frustration of running all the time.
“I think the hard work will pay off.
“Pre-season isn’t nice and six weeks is a long time to wait to get started.
“We are looking forward to testing ourselves against the best.
“They are a good team coming off a Premier League and FA Cup-winning season so it’s going to be difficult.
“But it’s a game we’re all looking forward to.
“We’re playing Chelsea and everyone knows what they can do.
“We will be a bit nervous but it’s good to have nerves because they bring the best out of you.”
Morrison scored his first goal of the season during Saturday’s closing pre-season game against Osasuna.
He hopes to take that into the season.
“I always like to score and it was a bit of a cheeky goal, which I thoroughly enjoyed,” he continued.
“Hopefully I can start off the season with a few more goals.
“If you get over five in the Premier League you have done well.
“If you can contribute with some goals then teams will look at you.
“You just have to balance off, but we are a scoring team and with players getting in the box we are going to create chances and get better opportunities.”
The Baggies hope to make progress on their pursuit of Somen Tchoyi this week.
They are also expected to announce the signing of Nicky Shorey today or tomorrow.
The Villa left-back completed a medical on Friday, with just the formalities to be concluded.
