Tony Mowbray has revealed how his troops are far better equipped to deal with their promotion push compared to the team he inherited last season. The former Hibs boss reshaped Bryan Robson's team in the summer after the Baggies fell at the final furlong at Wembley in May.
The departure of a number of last season's 'star' players may have raised eyebrows from some quarters however Mowbray believes his current crop of heroes are more then adequate in coping with the pressure of the final eleven games.
"It's a new team and I see good traits in this team," the
"Mentally I think the state of the team is better now than it was last year.
"Last year they got built up to be a top team and the best players and they suffered defeat very badly mentally.
"This year there is a greater mental toughness to accept defeat, put it behind them and move on very quickly.
"The players are fine and they have got a real belief in themselves that they have got enough quality to win enough games.
"You hope for strength of character.
"We've talked about the state of the league, how we're going to lose games and they've got to understand in their own minds that it's not a problem and that we are going to have set-backs.
"Everybody is going to have set-backs but you've got to remain single-minded and focused on what you want to do and how you're going to achieve it.
"The signs are there that they can do that.
"Hopefully we're seeing solidarity amongst them now and there is a mental toughness that will help us in the last eight weeks of the season."