Love for West Brom duo shows Shilen Patel importance of keeping Carlos Corberan happy: View | OneFootball

Carlos Corberan has done a brilliant job with West Bromwich Albion, with the Baggies set to take part in the Championship play-offs next month.

Corberan took charge at The Hawthorns in October 2022, and missed out on the top six last season, finishing in ninth.

But he now has them in fifth place and three points clear of seventh, with a win away at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon confirming their place in the play-offs for May.

The 41-year-old has also had to deal with many off-field issues, with the club being taken over by American businessman Shilen Patel earlier this year.

This led to a lack of transfer business, so Corberan has had to make full use of the players already at his disposal, and some of them have excelled this year, like Alex Mowatt and Cedric Kipre.

Alex Mowatt and Cedric Kipre are favourites for West Brom’s Player of the Season award

Both Mowatt and Kipre have been brought back into the fold by Corberan after having been frozen out, and have done exceptionally well.

Mowatt spent last season on loan with the Baggies’ Championship rivals Middlesbrough, whilst Kipre was also out on loan in the Championship with Cardiff City.

Both players have come back into the team this season, and have been consistent in their performances throughout the campaign. This has led to many fans suggesting that either of them should win the Supporters’ Player of the Season award.

In the replies to Albion’s post on X (formerly known as Twitter) asking for fans to vote on who they think should win the award, one fan said: “Was a toss up between Kipre and Mowatt. Found it really hard to split them but opted for Kipre.

“Both have been fantastic and I (I’m sure like many of us) probably didn’t expect to see them play for us again this time last year.”

Another fan said: “Kipre and with Mowatt highly commended. Both players deserve huge credit - both players were deemed surplus and sent out on loan. Great mental strength to turn it all around at a time when we needed them.”

Mowatt and Kipre examples of why Shilen Patel has to keep Carlos Corberan at the club

The fact that Corberan has managed to turn Mowatt and Kipre’s West Brom careers around just shows how much of a special coach he is.

Both players had not been deemed good enough by former managers which led to them being loaned out, but Corberan has completely turned their careers around at The Hawthorns.

Corberan has not been backed all season due to former owner Guochuan Lai’s lack of interest in the club, so Patel has to make sure he is backed as he has done very well.

Corberan has shown in one of his previous managerial jobs, at Huddersfield Town, that if he does not align with the owner’s vision, he will walk out of the club.

So Patel needs to make sure that this does not happen, as Corberan is a highly talented coach and is tipped to go very far in the game.