Shannon Ruth is hoping his under-21s can pull off 'a real achievement' by progressing to the group stages of the EFL Trophy.
We head to Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday to take on the group leaders and a win for Ruth's side, who are two points ahead of third-placed Shrewsbury Town and three in front of Walsall, would guarantee their passage into the knockout stages altough a draw could be enough too.
"I am sure it will be one of our toughest games yet in this competition but we are really determined to try and get out of the group," said Ruth. "For any under-21 side to get out of their group is a real achievement.
"The players have performed well in both games so far, and I am delighted we have four points from our opening two matches but now we need another big push to get us over the line."
MA+ members & STH only - Log-in required
Log-in required
Albion will go into the game full of confidence after they bounced back from last week's 6-3 loss against Arsenal with a 2-1 home win over Aston Villa in Premier League 2 on Friday, thanks to first-half goals from Samy Chouchane and Ruairi McConville at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.
Ruth said, "The challenge was to have a positive reaction from last Sunday. We had a lot of control in the first half, our shape and strategy caused them lots of issues. We got into a lot of dangerous positions and we deserved our lead but full credit to Aston Villa, they came out and applied more pressure in the second half.
"We didn't quite deal with that pressure well. We then changed shape to swing the momentum our way and I felt we did that for the middle part of the half but their goal gave them a bit of life. We had to dig in and hang on towards the end. I am pleased from that perspective as it was good to learn from conceding six goals to having to defend as a team to see us over the line."
Jakub Moder was once again in the starting lineup, this time completing 45 minutes of action after 18 months out with an ACL injury. The Polish international, who played 30 minutes against Arsenal last weekend, played a part in Albion's opener and looked sharp in midfield.
"I thought he looked really good in the first half and I am delighted for him that he could get another 45 minutes under his belt," said Ruth. It's a really positive thing for the football club and for all that Jakub has been through. He is continuing to get sharper and I really enjoyed his performance."