Gareth Barry: West Brom can take heart from late rally
Goalscorer Gareth Barry has urged the Baggies to take heart from their second-half performance against Manchester United.
Albion fought back from 2-0 down to make it interesting at The Hawthorns on Sunday thanks to Barry’s scrambled goal 13 minutes from time.
But the experienced midfielder says it will mean nothing if it doesn’t fire the team towards victory at Stoke next weekend.
Albion’s winless run is nearing half a season and is now the fifth-longest in Premier League history.
“It’s important we put this defeat behind us and concentrate fully on Stoke,” said Barry, who returned from his thigh injury on Sunday.
“We looked a bit tired in the first half after a big shift at Liverpool on Wednesday. We’ve got to try and win a game of football and get three points on the board.
“The quicker the three points come the better.
“We have to realise that that’s another game gone where we’ve not won, but we’ve also got to put it behind us and work towards getting three points at Stoke next weekend.
“We gave it more of a go in the second half but unfortunately we couldn’t get ourselves back level.
“We can certainly take heart from the second-half performance.”
Elsewhere, Albion winger James McClean has been named the 2017 Sportsperson of the Year by Irish broadcasters RTE.
