If the Premiership table was determined by possession and chances created, West Bromwich Albion would probably be in the top half. But today they occupy 17th position and Bryan Robson, their manager, is frustrated.
The 3-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United last Sunday was significant, not so much for the poor Albion defending but for how much possession Robson's players enjoyed. The result, he says, was not a reflection of play.
But now Robson has emphasised the need to maintain concentration for the entire 90 minutes, instead of allowing teams to take advantage of a spell during matches when Albion fall asleep.
"I have the anger because of the way we have been getting beat this season," Robson said. "I am hoping the players will cut out these lapses in these games. But you cannot keep talking about it. Something has to be done about it.
"We can dominate matches but then we have a 15-minute period where we might concede two goals. And that is where we're going to struggle. We need greater communication among our players."
Albion play away to West Ham United tomorrow and, as usual, will be impossible to predict. Albion are just as capable of defeating Arsenal as they are losing to Sunderland. It makes life interesting, if a touch frustrating.
"You have to move on and bounce back quickly," Robson said. "The Newcastle result was tough to take because we played so well in the first half, without creating much ourselves. But to contain Newcastle to no chances in the first half was good.
"But within 30 seconds of the restart we concede a goal. I told the lads it was unprofessional to concede a goal so quickly when we have got the kick-off. That was beyond me.
"Then we played well for a while but we conceded the second goal and that killed it. On another day, it would have been different and we would have got the three points.
"It is annoying to pick up the newspaper and see that we lost 3-0 because we had better chances than Newcastle. But that is past. The most important game is West Ham."
Zoltan Gera has been ruled out of the match because of a recurrence of his groin problem.
The Hungary international midfield player, who has been out of action for the past four Albion games with the niggling injury, will also miss the international friendly away to Greece on November 12.
Chris Kirkland (bruised kidney) will also be forced to watch from the sidelines at Upton Park. But Martin Albrechtsen is fit again after sitting out the past two matches with a hamstring injury.
Kevin Campbell (ankle) and Diomansy Kamara ( parternity leave) are available for selection after missing the match at home to Newcastle.
Robson said: "Zoltan and Chris are out and Paul Robinson is obviously still missing through suspension. Other than that everybody is fit. Chris needs complete rest for two weeks because the specialist said he shouldn't do anything due to the bruising on his kidney.
"Zoltan trained all of last week but felt a recurrence of his injury [on Wednesday]."
Matthew Etherington, the West Ham winger, is wary of the threat posed by Albion, saying: "They did really well to survive in the Premier League last season.
"They are a hard-working side and we know that they will make things difficult for us on Saturday. It's going to be tough and we'll have to work hard for the right to play our game. But the squad are confident and we believe that we can take all three points."
Albion are launching a pilot coach scheme to make it easier for supporters and potential new supporters living in outlying areas to attend matches at The Hawthorns.
The new executive coach service will first run to the Everton game on Saturday, November 19 ( kick off 5.15pm) and will cater for fans in the Tamworth and Lichfield, and Worcester and Droitwich, areas.
