Isaac Price and West Brom's Challenge Against Newcastle in Carabao Cup
Isaac Price is in no mood to tiptoe into Tyneside.
Fresh from a match-winning brace against Burnley, the West Bromwich Albion midfielder is relishing the chance to measure himself – and a resurgent Albion – against Premier League opposition when they face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup second round on Wednesday.
“I can’t wait,” he told BBC WM Sport. Simple as that.
Championship high, Premier League test
Albion travel north in buoyant mood. James Morrison’s side sit second in the Championship after taking maximum points from their opening two league fixtures, and they have already handled one cup assignment, easing past League Two Rotherham United in the first round of the EFL Cup.
Now comes a different kind of examination. Newcastle, who opened their league campaign with a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at St James’ Park, offer the sort of stage Price has been itching for.
“All the lads are buzzing,” he said. “They are the games you want to be drawn in, in the cup – to go and play away at a Premier League team and at a place where we can go and show our quality.”
The mood is upbeat. The memory of last season is not.
Lessons from a near-miss
Twelve months ago, Albion also came out of the blocks quickly. Then the season collapsed. Performances dipped, results tailed off under Ryan Mason and, by the end, the club were clinging on to their Championship status.
That brush with relegation has left its mark.
“Every game in the Championship is tough and it doesn’t matter who you play,” Price said. “We had this last year – we started really well and it went downhill pretty fast, so it is about keeping our feet on the ground, keeping a level of consistency in performances to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
The numbers from last season still grate. Too many cheap goals conceded. Not enough scored.
“You are always learning as a player, even the lads who have played 2, 3, 400 games,” he added. “It’s about managing games and moments – we conceded a lot of goals that we shouldn’t have last season and we didn’t score enough at the other end.
“This year I want to be a key player where I show that that can’t happen and I want to be a leader in this team to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
The brace against Burnley was a start. The real test of leadership, he knows, comes when the setbacks arrive.
Morrison’s imprint
Albion’s survival last season owed much to a familiar figure in the dugout. James Morrison stepped in as interim head coach after Eric Ramsay’s sacking in February and immediately changed the mood. A ten-match unbeaten run dragged the club away from danger and earned the former Scotland international the job on a permanent basis.
For Price, Morrison’s influence stretches beyond tactics and team selection.
“It’s helpful for all the lads,” he said. “He knows the club inside out. He’s really humble – you wouldn’t know day to day how many games he played and how many goals he scored for West Brom because he doesn’t talk about it, but he is a legend and the lads love him.
“He’s good around the changing room and he understands what we need. We look really good on the pitch at the moment, so it is about building the consistency which is what he wants.”
That word again: consistency. It hangs over everything Albion are doing in these early weeks.
Price has his goals, Morrison has his standards, and West Brom have their warning from last year burned into the back of their minds.
Now they walk into St James’ Park, form in their pocket, scars on their memory, and a Premier League scalp in their sights.
