For much of the Saturday’s match at The Hawthorns, it was West Brom’s best performance of the season, one that had manager Alan Irvine lauding the team’s first half response. But after mistakes by Jonas Olsson and Ben Foster gifted Everton goals, the Baggies were left with a 2-0 loss to Everton, leaving the team winless through three rounds.
“They’re mistakes these players don’t normally make,"Irvine said after his team’s second loss in three games. “If they made them on a regular basis, they wouldn’t be Premier League players. They’re both internationals, as well. It happens.”
Posting one shot on target, the Baggies couldn’t muster enough going forward to offset their mistakes, a performance that drew derision from the crowd. Irvine was deferential to the fans’ response, implying supporters had the right to express their displeasure.
Ultimately, Irvine’s task stays the same.
“All I can do is work as hard as possible on the training ground to bring the group together,” the new boss said. “That’s what were doing. There’s a lot of hard work going on.
“The players have been great in terms of the way they’ve been responding, but we’re making some errors at the moment. We’re getting punished for them.”
Irvine’s full post-match interview can be seen, above.