Sam Allardyce hopes that the returning West Brom supporters can provide his beleaguered players with a lift as they seek to end a miserable campaign with a flourish on Wednesday night. He shared his regret that the supporters hadn’t been on hand to roar his team on when they needed them most this season.
Sam Allardyce said: “Hopefully it’ll be massive, and when they run out they get the hairs sticking up on the back of their neck. It’s been so long since they experienced a bit of fan atmosphere. We’ll get over 6,000 here on Wednesday. The run-out and the thrill for the players, and the fans getting behind them, will hopefully be the difference to go and perform and beat West Ham. I’d have thought they’d be pleased to be back. Sometimes you think what might’ve been had they been here at The Hawthorns. Those draws we’ve had – they might’ve just lifted us over the line and given us that lift that home fans can give you. It’ll be my hardest job since I got here, on the dejection and disappointment of the team in the dressing room. This game comes up so quickly on Wednesday. It’ll be my hardest task to ask them to go again like they did against Liverpool, but we will let them get over this disappointment, recover and then on Tuesday talk about overcoming it and delivering another performance like they did against Liverpool. You hope they get the rewards for that. It wouldn’t have been a problem getting them ready for Wednesday if they had got the draw, or possibly even the victory.”
