We just go out to win each and every game

Last updated : 05 February 2009 By Tony Scholes
West Brom's Tony Mowbray had praise for Burnley again after we'd beaten his side, but he did feel it was a game West Brom could have won. "I have to give Burnley credit," he said. "They worked extremely hard, got the goals and are through to the next round. We wish them luck."

On his own side he said: "We missed a few opportunities and were generally on top in the first half but found ourselves behind to a great strike. I sat there feeling pretty comfortable because I thought we were the better side.

"But it doesn't matter because football is all about putting the ball into the net. I think Burnley's strikers showed great desire and quality in the final third, which was probably the difference. We lacked that clinical touch which has dogged us all season. We are not as clinical as we should be in the final third.

"We have to take it on the chin now and move on. The league becomes the priority, as it always has been. You want to go as far as you can in the cup but that distraction has gone now.

"I'm disappointed to be out of the cup but not overly disappointed. It's just a bit frustrating to go out to a team I though we could dominate. Generally we did, yet we lost three goals."

Owen Coyle is getting used to seeing his Burnley side beat Premier League teams and he puts this one right up there with all the others. "We've had a few cup successes, but for me that's probably the best because it's the one that counts now," he said.

"The Carling Cup is finished and it was great while it lasted, but we would love to have an FA Cup adventure and I stressed that to the players. I think we have shown, from the Carling Cup, that we could marry that with our Championship games.

"We had that blip in terms of a couple of results, but each and every game we want to win and again we were underdogs against a very good Premier League team in West Bromwich Albion.

"I thought it was a real footballing game and I have to say that over the piece I though we were deserving of the win. That' seven ties against Premier League sides now and it's five wins, a draw and a defeat at White Hart Lane."

On the game itself he added: "I am loathe to pick out individuals because to a man they gave everything they had," and referring to their fitness he said: "We know we've got the levels of fitness and that's what I want from my players because of the way we play.

"We play at a high energy with a high tempo and they have to be at their maximum in terms of fitness, and equally mentally, to perform to those levels. It's a big demand, but I know they can do it, and I'm sure they believe in themselves now. They have to continue in that vein.

"We've got a real tough game now on Saturday at Birmingham, but we're going to rest up and make sure we show the same fitness levels, the same desire and the same level of ability that we've shown against West Brom.

"We make no claims about anything, we just go out to win each and every game, and where that takes us we'll see at the end of the season.