Mowbray drawing positives from draw

Tony Mowbray is drawing on the positives from the 0-0 draw against Sheffield United despite dropping out of the automatic promotion places for the first time in three months. The Albion boss drew strength from a number of missed chances with Filipe Teixeria hitting a post inside the first six minutes and James Morrison squandering an excellent chance in injury-time.

However the response from his players after the disappointing Barnsley defeat and their determination to secure all three points against a stubborn Blades outfit pleased Mowbray who refused to panic at the Baggies' league position.

"It was a frustrating night," the Albion boss said.

"The team reacted well to a poor performance on Saturday.

"Our performance level was good tonight and I've no complaints.

"We created enough chances to win more than one game.

"We could have had two or three in the first ten minutes but it wasn't to be.

"A lot of stuff hit their keeper. He also made some decent stops.

"We might have done better with our chances - but that's football.

"I don't get over-concerned about league positions at this time.

"Even when we were top I said there are no prizes given out at this stage of the season.

"We've still got 14 games to go and I think if the performance level stays as high as it was tonight, we'll be okay.

"The players showed that they are more than ready for the challenge.

"We'll just keep going and do what we do.

"Let's talk about where we are when there are a handful of games to go.

"At this moment, there is so much that can change because the league is so tight.

"Watford were out of the top two only a couple of weeks ago and now they're sitting top.

"Things can change again - and I'm sure they will change.

"There will be twists and turns and we're still confident we've got enough ammunition to have a good season and finish strongly."

Despite being unable to penetrate United's rearguard the stalemate ensured Albion kept a clean sheet for the first time in seven games, a trend Mowbray hopes to continue as the season comes to close.

"The clean-sheet is a huge bonus for our team," Mowbray continued.

"We've got to improve on the run-in from last season because we didn't win many matches.

"And I'm sure we will improve on it.

"When I look at the run of games we've got there is plenty of points for us to pick up.

"We didn't feel threatened tonight.

"I thought we were solid while the team tried to create chances and score goals.

"If we continue in that vein, we'll be fine and win plenty of matches."