Adam Lallana hopes that Albion fans are enjoying this season’s roller-coaster ride, even though some results – such as the 1-1 draw at home to Fulham – have not gone the way they might wish.
And he insists that Roberto De Zerbi’s squad is determined to keep improving despite the demands of a first European campaign.
He said: “The fans should be enjoying themselves at the minute - what they are watching, the brand of football that Roberto has got us playing, beating Ajax. Of course, we want to keep improving but it’s a challenge. We have got a lot of young players that aren’t used to the schedule.
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“But we have got a great balance of experience and young players and such a great, honest group in there. We will keep working.”
The fact that the players were disappointed with a draw at the Amex on Sunday is, Lallana says, a positive sign.
“They were flat as a pancake after, but I can see positives in the performance and even in the disappointment of the team,” he said. “When I first joined the club three or four years ago we would be delighted with a point from that. We have come a long way and sometimes we need to remember that.
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“The league is difficult. Teams have their own way of playing and trying to make it difficult for us. It’s hard to win Premier League games, extremely hard. They [Fulham] had all week to prepare their gameplan, we didn’t. It’s not an excuse, it’s just the situation and is a result of our success.”
“It’s a football match at the end of the day and you can’t be at your best all the time. They are exactly the type of games which can happen after a Thursday night game. Everyone’s emotions were high [against Ajax] and we got the win. Sometimes you can win ugly in a way and that is what we need to learn. It’s an inexperienced squad in terms of playing three games a week.”
The former England attacker was pleased to make only his second Premier League start of the season. “You might not have seen me out there every week but it is nice to contribute on the pitch as and when I can,” he said. “I don’t expect to be out there every week nowadays. It is shame I couldn’t be part of helping the lads get three points.”