Steve Bruce reveals what 'really infuriated' him about West Brom

It might have been late goals that condemned West Bromwich Albion to their latest defeat, this time out against Swansea City, on Monday, but Steve Bruce was left ‘infuriated’ by their start to proceedings.

Albion had earned themselves a couple of corners in the first few minutes and began in promising fashion, but those corners were dreadfully executed and the Swans were untroubled before they gathered themselves and began to control the game.

Starting slowly has been a habit that has haunted Albion in recent months. They’ve scored just three goals in the first half of a match in the previous 21 outings, and none at The Hawthorns since the 3-0 victory over Bristol City in October.

Therein lies a big problem for Bruce, who is not exactly without his fair share of issues in the early stages of his reign.

What he does expect, though, is for his players to deal with the expectation of representing Albion at a level where the club have been a big fish, when involved, for the last 20 years or more.

“If I’m honest I’m disappointed in the performance from the first five minutes. We had two corners to put them under pressure at the start. We didn’t deliver.” Bruce reasoned.

“It’s something we do look at in the second half. We have conceded late but it’s the start of the game that really infuriates me. We turned backwards, we weren’t brave on the ball and there’s a way of playing the game. From the first two or three minutes, we looked nervous and edgy. The ball was a problem.

“There’s a lot of anxiety around the terraces, but there’s an expectation. Going one win in 13 in the Championship, for a club of our stature, is simply not good enough.

“That’s why you come to West Brom, because of that expectation and big crowds.