Albion boss Bruce lists Kenilworth Road as one of the most 'difficult places' to go in the Championship

Hatters host the Baggies this afternoon
West Bromwich Albion striker Andy CarrollWest Bromwich Albion striker Andy Carroll
West Bromwich Albion striker Andy Carroll

West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce insists his side need to be at their best if they are to end their poor away form at Kenilworth Road this afternoon, a ground he has labelled one of the most 'difficult places' to go to in the Championship.

The Baggies head to Bedfordshire on the back of a five game winless run away from the Hawthorns, stretching back to early December, although Bruce himself has only been in charge for one of those since replacing Valerien Ismael, a 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United.

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Speaking to the club's official website, he said: "I was at the Luton game last weekend when they played Birmingham.

“If someone had told me after 30 minutes that it was going to finish 3-0 to Birmingham I would have told them no chance.

“You could see Luton were confident in what they were doing and how they were trying to play.

“I have nothing but respect for Nathan Jones and what he’s doing at Luton.

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“It’s never an easy place to go and, in fact, it’s probably one of the most difficult places to go.

“We’ll have to be at our best to go and get something from there.

“We need to go and win.

“We have to turn our away form around in terms of results if we want to end up where we want to end up.

“Our supporters are certainly doing their bit. They come in their thousands and they sell out everywhere they go. It’s remarkable.

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“We’ve got to give them something to shout about and an enjoyable trip back home.”

It's not just on the road that West Brom have struggled in recent weeks, as they have gone four matches without a win, not scoring in that time either, blunted by Preston, Millwall, Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers.

The Baggies chief does having some strong attacking options available though, with former England striker Andy Carroll and Karlan Grant serious threats at this level, leaving Bruce confident the drought will be ended soon.

He continued: "I’ve seen promising signs in training and in the Blackburn game.

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“We don’t just need the forwards to improve in the final third, we’ll need help from our midfielders and our full-backs too.

“It’s a collective team thing to be better going forward.

“Midfielders have to make themselves accountable too. We’re wanting them to score goals too.

“We have to improve and I’m quietly confident we’ll do so.

“I changed us instantly when I came in because I thought 4-3-3 might suit us in terms of the players we have.

“I think it is vitality important that you can change and I said that to the players yesterday.

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“My challenge is to get the best out of the group with the players that we’ve got.

“We need to find what formation suits us to go and make a fist of getting out of the Championship. That’s all I’m concerned about.

“There’s nothing quite like confidence and we’ve got to try and give as much of it as possible to the players between now and May.”

Bruce also hopes to have Kyle Bartley available after fully recovering from chicken pox, but Daryl Dike and Matty Phillips are both still out.