Richard Chaplow is heading back to Turf Moor this weekend with a heavy heart, as Albion's squad contemplate their dismal start to the season.

The midfielder has been drafted into the England Under-20 squad that is set to face Holland on Sunday at his old stomping ground in an international friendly.

However, while Chaplow is happy to return to Burnley, he confesses that, like the rest of Albion's cosmopolitan squad, he would rather thrash out their problems on the training ground.

Saturday's defeat at Blackburn means that Albion have only picked up one point out of a possible 18 and have slipped to 19th position in the Premiership.

Only Everton separate Albion from the bottom of the table and a grim season looms at The Hawthorns unless there is a drastic improvement.

But with players such as Chaplow, Chris Kirkland and Zoltan Gera absent from The Hawthorns for the best part of ten days, Bryan Robson will have to keep any future plan under wraps until their return.

"I am looking forward to playing for my country on Sunday, but it is a tough time to be leaving the club," said Chaplow.

"It is unfortunate and I think quite a lot of the lads are disappointed to be leaving the club when things are like they are at present.

"They want to be where they earn their money and Albion is the most important thing to us. This is where it counts for us and it is disappointing to be away from the team and manager.

"We need to be in there working on the problems, so hopefully I can slot back into the team."

The game at Blackburn on Saturday was only Chaplow's second Premiership start of the season and the fixture with Holland this weekend gives him the opportunity to play a full part in a run of games.

He might have suffered two defeats in his brace of appearances so far, but that doesn't put him in the minority in Albion's under-achieving squad.

And Chaplow is optimistic he has done enough to convince Robson to select him for the home fixture with Arsenal in 11 days' time.

"I have been waiting for a run in the team since the start of the season and I don't think I let the manager down too much at Blackburn."

"Hopefully he will pick me again, as the players are still optimistic about our chances.

"The spirit is still really good and the players, supporters and backroom staff all have to muck in together when the going is tough and be a team.

"There wasn't a great deal wrong with the first half performance against Blackburn and if you can add that to our second half showing against Charlton then you might find a winning combination."

Like every other employee at Albion, Chaplow is racking his brains trying to find a solution to solve their dreadful run of form that could leave them isolated at Christmas once again.

The remaining players held a meeting at their training base yesterday morning to try and pinpoint the areas that need improving.

Yet Chaplow admitted that the longer the game wore on at Ewood Park, the more likely it

was they would concede.

"We got bogged down after the interval and conceded a lot of needless free-kicks and corners," added Chaplow.

"It was inevitable that they

were going to score eventually and I can't put my finger on why we struggled so much.

"It may have been fatigue, but there was no reason why we should have been tired.

"We struggled to keep hold of the ball and that made it very difficult for us.

"But all we can do is look forward and try our best to improve."