Express & Star

West Brom content with going under radar in Championship promotion race

Albion are more than happy to remain underdogs in this season’s Championship promotion race according to goalkeeper Alex Palmer.

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West Brom keeper Alex Palmer (Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images).

Carlos Corberan’s side sit seventh in the league after a strong start to the season, level on points with Sunderland who occupy the final play-off spot.

And despite a blip away at Southampton before the international break, Palmer is confident that the team have what it takes to keep on flying under the radar.

“We have (made a great start), we’re right up there, we had a tough result at Southampton but a point or three would’ve been even better,” he said. “But there’s still a long way to go, compared to where we were this time last season, it shows how quickly football changes.”

Palmer added: “We’ve just got to keep grinding out wins, getting points where we can, being solid and hopefully we can stay right around there.”

The Albion goalkeeper has been vital in bringing that solidity, keeping seven clean sheets in 16 matches, including a spell of six clean sheets in seven games.

And Palmer, who could have left The Hawthorns in the summer for Premier League outfit Luton Town, believes the confidence Albion are playing with will stand them in good stead going forward.

“There is, I wouldn’t call it arrogance, just lads that have been around the place, we’ve got talented lads coming back in as well,” he said. “I think there’s that calmness as well, calmness and confidence that, do you know what? We just need to focus on us going into games, realising how good we are.”

Palmer continued: “The gaffer says that we’re a good team, I think we get dismissed a little bit with the big boys coming down, how strong the league is this year, but if we can keep going steadily in and around it, especially after this busy period then who knows.

“We’ll just keep focusing on ourselves.”