Interviews

De Zerbi: We can transform problems into opportunities

Head coach says Albion can still compete on three fronts despite injury list.

By Bruce Talbot • 28 February 2024

By Paul Hazlewood
Roberto De Zerbi is confident his players can still fight for honours on three fronts.

Roberto De Zerbi has complete faith in his players to achieve their targets this season despite a lengthening injury list.

Albion are chasing success on three fronts and begin a stretch of five games in 15 days tonight when they face Wolves at Molineux looking to reach the last eight of the Emirates FA Cup for the second succesive season. 

As well as two Premier League games during the next fortnight there is also the small matter of a Round of 16 tie against AS Roma in the Europa League.

Asked if absentees mean he might have to reassess Albion’s targets for the rest of the season, De Zerbi insisted: “It’s difficult but it's not important what I think about the next target.

“It's more important what we have to do on the pitch and how we think, how we believe in our target and to win the game tomorrow and to reach a European position in the table.

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De Zerbi's Wolves press conference

“Because we can, with or without Mitoma, with or without March, with or without Joao (Pedro). Mentality is more important than other things."

“I am not frustrated, because injuries can happen in football. The situation never changed from September until now. We try to transform problems into opportunities, like we have done until this moment.

“Tonight we fight to try to win the game, Fulham away will be the same and Roma the same. We want to win, to make our fans happy and make our club happy.”

Kaoru Mitoma added to the list of absentees this week with a back injury which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season. Solly March, James Milner, Jack Hinshelwood and Joao Pedro were missing and Evan Ferguson (ankle) is not available tonight while Danny Welbeck and Joel Veltman are doubts and Billy Gilmour starts a three-match ban.