Carlos Corberan was a proud man as he watched his West Brom side breeze to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Preston and secure a Championship play-off place.
Alex Mowatt got the ball rolling when he converted a penalty, won by Darnell Furlong, in first half stoppage time, before captain Kyle Bartley doubled their lead on the hour mark.
Furlong himself then struck a third in the 68th minute after good work from fellow full-back Conor Townsend.
Corberan, who reached the play-off final with Huddersfield in 2022, will now prepare his players for a semi-final duel with Southampton over two legs, but in the aftermath of this win pride was his overriding emotion.
“Football is about this – making your best so you can live these special moments,” he said.
“I’m happy to have the possibility to put this group there and to do it with this group of players. They deserve, over the season, the position we’ve achieved today.
“We’ve been there for many, many weeks and means we don’t go on holiday – I wasn’t ready for a holiday! I wanted to live the moment we’re going to live. The first target, to reach the play-offs, is done, and now we will work towards the next one.
“I wanted to relive this moment, after Huddersfield, because this club deserve it. Unfortunately last year we couldn’t achieve it, but this year we have.
“The play-offs give you the step that allow you to fight for promotion. We know we are going to have a massively strong test, because Southampton are a team that were in the Premier League last year and who deserve their position too.
“We know how difficult the new target, which is Wembley, will be to achieve, but we are going to make our best.”
Preston manager Ryan Lowe, meanwhile, saw his side’s end-of-season slump culminate in a fifth straight defeat.
He intends to begin work immediately to improve North End’s chances of closing the gap to the play-offs next term.
“We were nowhere near the level,” he admitted.
“It’s been disappointing for everyone involved, the fans and hierarchy, because we wanted to finish the season on a high. To finish 10th is a good bonus, 63 points – we wanted more.
“It’s my job to find solutions and be better next season. The recruitment has already started, to find more leaders, more quality for when we have a burst of injuries as we’ve had.
“I’m convinced we can get to 70-odd points. This (losing the final five matches) doesn’t happen if you’ve got more points, because you’re in with a fighting chance. I don’t think my team would’ve gave in like it looks like they have. That’s disappointing.
“Between nine, 10, 11 points (to the play-offs), we have to make up that gap. There have been times this season where we should’ve won.
“We’d have been in a better position, but I believe in my ability, my staff’s ability, the players we’ve got at our disposal now and I think we can achieve some great things and keep pushing on.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Let's see at the statistics of the 4 Lords. And Man City are back. PSG are reportedly helping save Lyon from RELEGATION to Ligue 2! PALMEIRAS BEAT BOTAFOGO IN EXTRA TIME TO REACH THE LAST EIGHT OF THE CLUB WORLD CUP Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami have The HARDEST ROUTE to The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup FINAL! It took a long delay and extra time, but Chel...
Williams demands guarantee from Barca amid fears of Olmo situationAccording to Marca, Nico Williams has reportedly informed Athletic Club through his agent that he wants to don the Barcelona shirt from next season and is close to signing a six-year contract. However, the player reportedly wants a guarantee from Barca that they will be able to register him with La Liga after triggering his release ...
ATLANTA -- Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique warned his players against ignoring the offensive threats of Inter Miami in Sunday's Club World Cup round-of-16 match, emphasizing the damage that can be done by experienced stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets."Anyone who relaxes for 10 seconds in football already knows where they are. It's not like there's no dou...
Arsenal finished second in the Premier League for a third successive season in 2024-25 – but the fact that Liverpool leapfrogged them was undoubtedly frustrating.In 2022-23, the Gunners were runners-up with 84 points, five points behind champions Manchester City. A year later, they improved to 89 points, closing the gap to Pep Guardiola's side to two points.The 2024-25 campaign looked like t...
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly keen to bring in his former colleague Acacio Valentim as part of a coaching reshuffle.The Portuguese boss is eager to avoid another disappointing season following a wretched first year in charge. In his debut season, Amorim led the Red Devils to a 14th place finish in the Premier League and suffered defeat in the Europa League final against Spur...
Cristiano Ronaldo to join up with Portuguese boss at Al-NassrAl-Nassr have reached an agreement with veteran Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus and look set to announce him as their new manager.The Saudi Pro League club have been looking for a new manager following Stefano Pioli’s decision to step down and return to Italy with Fiorentina.Jesus, 70, who left Al-Hilal at the end of the 2024-25 campa...
Raphinha keen to see Nico Williams at BarcelonaBarcelona winger Raphinha was full of praise for reported target Nico Williams as the club step up their pursuit of the Spain international.Barcelona are working tirelessly to bring the 22-year-old to the Camo Nou having been heavily linked with him for the past two years.Williams is understood to be keen on the move but his current club, Athletic, ar...
Alexander-Arnold: Real Madrid won't take Juventus lightlyTrent Alexander-Arnold says Real Madrid players are determined to win the Club World Cup.Real will meet Juventus in the tournament's round of 16 this weekend.New fullback signing Alexander-Arnold declared: "Both are very good teams (City and Juve), not least because they made it through the group stage."It's always going to be tough, no matt...
Pogba drops fresh Monaco move teaser onlinePaul Pogba has hinted he's set to undergo his medical with AS Monaco.The France international is due to sign for Monaco as a free agent after he passes his medical tests in the Principality.Pogba has dropped a hint on social media about his activities amid reports that he is due in France this weekend to complete his return to football.Pogba posted a self...
Raphinha happy to see Barcelona miss out on FIFA Club World CupBarcelona ace Raphinha has criticised the sheer number of game top clubs are having to play as the FIFA Club World Cup reaches the latter stages.Barcelona missed out on a place in the FIFA Club World Cup due to their poor performances in recent Champions League campaign.Raphinha doesn’t appear to be too bothered, however, hitting...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Arsenal interested in signing Cristhian Mosquera
- 3 Wayne Rooney gets Erling Haaland ponytail in shock new look
- 4 Arsenal have little chance of Liverpool target
- 5 Man United close in on Bryan Mbeumo
- 6 Chelsea transfer at 'final stages'
- 7 Man Utd close in on Bryan Mbeumo! Red Devils agree £60m+ fee with Brentford as Premier League rivals iron out final transfer details
- 8 Alfie makes clear Haaland commitment to Man City
- 9 Club World Cup 2025: Benfica v Chelsea predictions, best bets and odds
- 10 Salzburg vs Real Madrid Prediction 27 June 2025