Interviews

Dunk: We deserve fifth year in the Premier League

Captain is available for Albion for final match of campaign after serving two-game ban.

By Charlie Hanson • 23 May 2021

By Paul Hazlewood
Lewis Dunk has been impressed by the impact of Graham Potter as head coach.

Lewis Dunk has said that despite some setbacks Albion thoroughly deserve another campaign in the Premier League.

The 29-year-old believes that performances have improved over the course of the season, and is confident that the club is heading in the right direction under Graham Potter.

“It’s great to know that we’ll be playing Premier League for a fifth successive season and it’s something we’ve definitely deserved given our overall performances. There have been a few bumps in the road, which has to be expected, but I think we’re definitely moving in the right direction under Graham and his staff.

“The season's not over yet though. We can still beat our Premier League points record [41] – and that’s a nice target for us to aim for against Arsenal today.

12:20

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Potter's Arsenal press conference

“Graham is a real players’ manager; he cares about his players both on the pitch and in their home lives, and his door is always open. We can all see the progress we’ve made and I’m sure our fans have been delighted with the style of play since he first walked through the door.

“He deserves all the plaudits he receives and, given this is only his second season coaching at this level, he has done a great job and has established a real positive and happy vibe around the training ground.”

Albion have sometimes been guilty of not turning their dominance in games into goals but the skipper says the blame for that does not lie solely with the strikers.

“It would be extremely unfair to point the finger at just our forwards for that. As a team, we could have all done better from an attacking point of view, the strikers, the lads in midfield and us at the back. We all have a role to play in scoring goals, as we do in keeping them out.

“The fact that we have created so many chances is positive. If we had lost or drawn games where we hadn’t been creating chances it would have been more worrying.”