James Morrison: Cloud over West Brom but players needed no more motivation for safety

James Morrison revealed he did not need to need to change his team talk to add extra motivation as Albion chased safety after a points deduction.

The Baggies wrapped up the rescue job by sealing their Championship status with a goalless draw at home to promotion-chasing Ipswich on the penultimate day of the season.

The stalemate made it 10 unbeaten and earned Albion the crucial point needed for survival after Friday’s news of a two-point deduction having been found guilty of a financial breach.

Morrison, who is only currently in charge until the end of the campaign, insisted the news did not influence he players.

He said: "We had the cloud hanging over us, it had finally come out. We knew where we stood. We got the news but we concentrated on the football side. The lads were in a really good place, so we just cracked on.

"It helped us because we knew what we had to do. We spoke to the players over dinner at the training ground, but I didn't have to say too much - the players made that clear ‘Mozz, you don’t need to speak to us’, so it just cracked on.

“No, I almost didn't need to do a team talk, really. We're nine unbeaten, we just tried to continue. We didn’t need to over-complicate it. Just keep doing what we're doing.”

Albion were dominant in the first period against Ipswich, who needed a point to climb back into second.

Daryl Dike, with openings either side of half-time, and Aune Heggebo spurned clear-cut chances. Alex Mowatt was denied from range and the excellent Nat Phillips had several headed openings.

Ipswich wrestled back some control inside the final half hour and had a goal correctly chalked off for former Baggies defender Cedric Kipre.

The hosts knew a point would do and Morrison’s men worthy of yet another clean sheet.

"After 70 minutes I could feel the momentum changing,” Morrison added. “The players they were bringing on, I could see the shift, so I wanted to get some energy on the pitch but my staff were telling me that a point was all we needed! The players left it out there on the pitch.”

Morrison has transformed the club’s fortunes and a goalless draw in the final home game of the season means it is seven clean sheets in eight games in the 10-match unbeaten run and five in a row.

It has been a phenomenal run of more than 550 minutes without shipping a goal since the 2-2 draw against Wrexham, where the Red Dragons forced from behind.

The Baggies end their season at relegated basement boys Sheffield Wednesday and Hillsborough next Saturday, where Morrison has the opportunity to finish a forgettable campaign with an unbeaten run of 11 matches.