Tony Mowbray reveals exactly what West Brom need to do to reach the Premier League | OneFootball

Tony Mowbray has claimed West Brom need to win every home game as they fight for promotion back to the Premier League

Tony Mowbray has issued a demand for his West Bromwich Albion side as they continue their bid to finish the 2024/25 Championship campaign inside the play-offs.

The Baggies turned out an impressive display to claim a well-earned 1-1 draw away to league leaders Leeds United on Saturday afternoon. However, they still managed to slip ever so slightly down to sixth-place courtesy of Coventry City's fourth league victory in as many matches, with the Sky Blues gazumping Mowbray's side with a dramatic 3-2 win at Oxford United.

West Brom have spent much of the campaign in the top-six, but there are no guarantees they will conclude the season with a second successive play-off finish and another shot at returning to the Premier League.

Only goal differential separates the Baggies from Blackburn Rovers - one of Mowbray's former sides, of course - in seventh, while there are seven points between themselves and 13th-placed Sheffield Wednesday.

The race for the final two play-off spots is amplifying as we approach the dying embers of the current season, with the likes of Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Norwich all firmly in contention to knock the Baggies off their perch.

Mowbray, however, is refusing to pay too much attention to the flurry of sides competing below them for a play-off spot. Instead, the 61-year-old has claimed his side are focusing on potentially overtaking the sides above them, although he does recognise the challenge in doing so with an eight-point margin between Coventry and fourth-placed Sunderland.

Nonetheless, Mowbray has told his side to win every home game and go toe-to-toe with the stronger outfits in the division such as Burnley, where the Baggies will travel to next week.

Tony Mowbray's West Bromwich Albion promotion message

Following Saturday's draw at Leeds, Mowbray explained exactly what he believes it will take for his side to finish the season in contention for a Premier League return.

The veteran head coach told the Express and Star: "You always have to have targets. But I cannot see them [Sunderland] losing four games, and then we would have to win every game which is unlikely.

"We're trying to chase the teams above us rather than looking below us. We have QPR and Burnley and after the international break you have five or six left.

"So we just have to keep picking up points really.

"We have to win every home game in my opinion, and go to places like Turf Moor and throw some punches at them.

"You can't just stand there all game and get battered, we have to throw some punches at them because we are a decent team."

West Bromwich Albion's upcoming fixtures

The Baggies will be eyeing all three points on the weekend, when they welcome 14th-placed QPR to the Hawthorns. They will likely need all the momentum they can get ahead of next Tuesday's trip to Burnley, who are third in the league and above the Baggies by 16 points at the time of writing.

West Brom have a number of crunch home fixtures before the end of the season, which Mowbray will be hoping to win.

Home games against Hull City and Watford along with relegation-battling pair Derby County and Luton Town are all winnable, and their stiffest test on home soil will likely arrive when Sunderland come to town on April 5.