Stephens: We have to be brave and keep the faith

Midfielder Dale Stephens says Albion need to be brave and have faith in their style of play even if the pressure for Premier League points is intensifying.

Bruce Talbot

2020-02-01T06:00:00Z

Albion midfielder Dale Stephens.

The 30-year-old, who celebrated six years with the club this week, insists the squad believe in the way Graham Potter wants to play but knows more consistency is needed if Albion are to climb the table ahead of today's game away to West Ham United.

He said, “The club believed in the coach when he came in and as a squad we believe in him. He’s created an environment which isn’t selfish and where we all want to improve.

“We see more of the ball so personally it’s better to play in. I can’t see it changing too much and I hope it doesn’t, because we’re not too far from where we need to be.

“With our style we perhaps feel a bit exposed at the back sometimes so we need to lock that down when we have the ball, but we have to be brave and show courage to keep playing that way. Perhaps other teams come up with plans when they play us, but we’re not set in one structure. We can adapt and change shape during games.”

Dale Stephens in action against AFC Bournemouth.

Stephens has now clocked up more than 200 appearances since joining from Charlton in 2014 and has experienced plenty of ups and downs during that time, but he insists the players know what is required to secure a fourth season in the top flight.

“We’ve been in this position before. Staying in the Premier League will be a tough challenge but it’s one we believe we can do,” he added.

"We have played well in periods during games, but we know that’s not enough at this level. We’ve had a lot of games similar to Bournemouth last week where we were in full control for 30 minutes then we conceded two in ten minutes. Obviously, the manager wasn’t happy but he didn’t need to tell us. We were all disappointed with how we played.

"It’s happened too many times– we have to learn quickly and we have to improve. It’s a tough division but I still feel we have more than enough games left so we’re looking up the table rather than down. We believe we have enough in our squad to get out of it.”

Dale Stephens shrugs off Adam Lallana at Anfield back in November.

Stephens scored his last Premier League goal in the 2-2 draw against West Ham in January 2019 and the Seagulls won 3-0 on their first visit to the London Stadium. They head there on this afternoon two places and two points better off than the Hammers.

“Is there more pressure on West Ham? Possibly, as they are at home,” added Stephens.

“But we’ve got to put pressure on ourselves to get points and get them quickly. We didn’t pick up the points we’d highlighted in the last two games against Villa and Bournemouth, so we have to take on the new challenge of the next two games (against West Ham and Watford). It’s massively important for both clubs.

“The 3-0 win there was a good memory but we’re a different team. Hopefully we’ll get the same result, but we know it’s going to be tough.”

As a senior member of the squad, Stephens is also aware of the added responsibility he and the likes of Glenn Murray have at a critical time of the season.

He said, “Glenn hasn’t played a lot this season but he’s still a key member of the changing room. We need those type of characters to see us through until the end of the season. We have a lot of quality in the squad, but we need leaders - Glenn is one of those.”