Plenty of positives for West Brom's U23s despite poor results

Apart from a 5-1 win over Brighton and a 1-1 draw with Norwich, Albion's under-23s have lost all their matches so far in Premier League 2 and the Premier League Cup.

The same squad playing as the under-21s have also lost three games in the Checkatrade Trophy.

But there are extenuating circumstances behind the results, and plenty of reasons why the outlook is far more rosier than it seems.

Albion sent 13 youngsters out on loan in the summer, and after clearing the decks, James Shan's side is one of the youngest at this level.

"There's been many games this season where there have been positives," said Shan. "What you get with this league is some teams have a bunch of players going out on loan dead early.

"Some like to keep them in for the first half of the season and open that door for the loan policy in the back half of the season.

"We've kept average ages for all our games this season and we give away a minimum of 18 months in every game.

"I'd like to think that come January, other teams will let their older players out on loan and the age will level itself out.

"Then the experience our young players have had will stand them in good stead, and we can have a better, more competitive second half of the season."

The U23s have been in the play-off hunt in Division Two of Premier League 2 at certain points in each of the past two seasons, but they currently sit rock-bottom with four points.

However, Shan is hoping that steep learning curve for his young players will start to pay off soon as they become acclimatised to the league.

"There's no doubt that had we had more U23 players at our disposal in one way shape or form, had we kept more, or fewer gone out on loan, some of our existing players would not have had as much exposure of 23s football as they have," said Shan.

"They've had that exposure early, they've had to dig deep, fight hard, and find a way. Hopefully they'll reap the benefits in the second half of the season. "

Even if results don't pick up, it is not the end of the world. The scoreline is not as important at academy level, where the focus is on performance and experience.

Albion's academy has been fruitful in recent years and the recent international break served as another reminder to its success.

Sam Field was called up to England U21s despite being 19, Tyler Roberts was called up to Wales U21s despite being 18.

Goalkeeper Adam Przybek and defender Pablo Martinez, who was signed in the summer, were called up to Wales U19s.

Defender Kevin Healy was in the Republic of Ireland U18s, and promising young striker Rayaan Tulloch was with England U17s.

Tulloch is only 16, but has already featured several times for the U23s this season, and there are more and more players who would previously have been playing U18s football making the step up.

Albion's last game was an impressive performance against Coventry City's senior side in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Even though they lost 2-1, Shan was proud of his team, and he's urged his youngsters to continue that form in the league – starting with the tricky home game against leaders Middlesbrough on Monday.

"If we build on this now then we'll improve and the performances will become better," he said. "We need to make sure we build on the positivity of that performance to have a run of results in the league."