As the top four teams in the Championship look to push away, West Bromwich Albion find themselves deep in a battle to maintain a playoff spot.
Only six points separate the Baggies in sixth position from Danny Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday all the way down in 12th, with the intense fight to be in the top six showing no signs of relenting.
Tony Mowbray will be keeping everything crossed that his camp has enough to get over the line, with the more experienced heads such as John Swift coming in clutch in recent high-stakes contests.
Swift's improved performances under Mowbray
Since Mowbray’s arrival back in the Hawthorns hot seat, the Baggies have steadily gone about their business, with the 61-year-old collecting four wins from ten overall games.
Whilst that form isn’t mind-blowing at first glance, it means the West Midlands side remain in the race to finish in the top six. Crucially, John Swift has at least managed to stand out with his electric displays under the fresh regime.
This sublime free-kick silenced the Burnley masses as West Brom managed to get the better of a formidable James Trafford, leading to Mowbray’s men coming away from the contest against Scott Parker’s staunch hosts with a point in hand.
Away from this outrageous strike, Swift has also picked up a further goal and two assists in league action under his new manager’s wing, turning around his waning Baggies career in extremely quick fashion.
Still, with the ex-Reading midfielder turning 30 this coming June in the same month his West Brom contract expires, it isn’t a foregone conclusion that he will be kept around at the Hawthorns past this summer.
Instead, the powers that be at West Brom might want some of the first team personnel to be freshened up, knowing full well the magic Mowbray can work with up-and-coming youngsters.
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Mowbray had access to a whole host of top starlets during his Sunderland tenure, with Chris Rigg given more and more first-team chances under the ex-Black Cats boss, on top of also being a guide to Jobe Bellingham when he first moved to Wearside.
West Brom have also been unafraid to chuck academy products into the first-team picture in recent seasons, with Tom Fellows now an established Championship star with 11 assists next to his name this season, having once just been a wide-eyed youngster climbing up the rankings.
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ByDan EmeryMar 12, 2025