West Brom v Southampton: James Morrison makes request to squad ahead of crunch home double-header

Morrison, who has taken permanent charge, has vowed to get the squad on the front foot and says key to finding some momentum in the late surge towards safety is building on Saturday's improved 1-1 draw at Sheffield United.

Victories are key to survival, though, and former playing legend Morrison knows there is an onus on his side to lift the gloom around The Hawthorns and give the tired home faithful something to cheer again.

"We've got to get the ball rolling," Morrison said in Tuesday's press conference. "That's what I've been saying to the lads.

"We had Saturday, now back it up again, back it up again - (with) positive performances.

"A big focus is getting this home form good again, because it has been good back in recent times. There's no better place than when the Hawthorns is bouncing and it's up to us to make that, to get back again." 

It is obvious to say Morrison desires a fast start in Wednesday's clash against in-form Saints, who with Tom Fellows in their ranks made national headlines with last weekend's upset of top-flight Fulham to reach the FA Cup quarter-final.

But the boss was keen to emphasise Albion must be "intelligent" across 95-plus minutes. He stressed the hosts mustn't be "carried away" or "silly" in a bid to win the game in 10 minutes.

He added: "Play the game, be intelligent, manage the game. When you need to slow it down, you slow it down.

"Momentum is big in the games , so when we're on top, be ruthless. When we have spells where we're not, be hard to beat. The biggest thing is show the fight and the hard work that everyone expects of you.

"We just have to mix both (home and away form). We have to be solid away from home and we have to be positive at home in the right way.

"Don't get carried away, don't get silly. We don't have to win the game in the first ten minutes. We can win it in the 80th or 90th minute.

"I just want us to be better where we're not giving teams a head start. We're in the game until the final whistle. That will give us a better chance of getting some more points and building."

Albion's last league win, 13 games ago in their final effort of 2025, was a home 2-1 success over QPR under Ryan Mason. At that stage of the season the Baggies had won six and lost just twice from 12 home league outings.

"It was there," Morrison said. "Like you said, the stats backing it up. "We take confidence from that. We are a strong team at home when we want to be and when we can be."

He added of Tonda Eckert's Saints: "They're in good form, unbeaten in ten, coming off an FA Cup win, so their confidence will be high.

"I've been asking for a positive result to get the ball rolling and we got it on Saturday. It's up to us to back it up and, crucially, we're going to need our home form to be good."