Di Matteo is staying focussed
Saturday 27th March 2010, 11:29AM GMT.
Roberto Di Matteo is ignoring the history books despite his Albion team closing in on a club record.
The Baggies began today just four wins from setting a new record total for points in a season – currently standing at 89.
But head coach Di Matteo says he is only focussed on clinching promotion.
“No-one is going to look back at that and say you had a club record points total if you don’t achieve your target,” he said.
“If you break a club record it means you’ve picked up a lot of points and won a lot of games – that may add up to being successful.”
Albion began today with 78 points from 39 games – an average of exactly two points per game which would secure 92 points if it continued all season.
That would beat the current record of 89 points in Gary Megson’s first Baggies promotion season in 2002.
But Di Matteo has insisted the Baggies cannot become distracted by thoughts of records.
“It’s very easy to lose your focus and once you do it’s very, very hard to reverse it,” he said.
“As soon as you take your foot off the gas and people overtake you, it’s difficult to reverse it.”
Albion were at Reading today tackling their final match of seven in March and their 15th in the last two months.
And Di Matteo has repeated his call for the Football League to address fixture congestion.
“The amount of games is just incredible,” he said. “I’ve said before, they have to review this.
“We played eight in February and seven in March in 21 days.
“It’s just impossible to play all these games at your best level.”
Meanwhile, Di Matteo today backed Dutch winger Andy Slory to play his part in the promotion run-in despite a lack of action since his January move from Feyenoord.
Di Matteo said: “He came to us and in Holland his last game was at the end of December.
“It took him a little while because he needed a little ‘pre-season’ to get to match fitness.
“Then the team was doing well and it was difficult for him to get into the team.
“He’s still here, training well and I’m sure he’ll be playing at some point.”
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Roberto Di Matteo really needs to freshen the
team up for todays match as some players looked jaded against Coventry City.
Carson
Zuiverloon Tamas Olsson Reid
Morrison Dorrans Barnes Watson Thomas
Moore.
Subs: Kiely Meite Mattock Mulumbu Miller
Slory Cox.
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