Better than Dike: West Brom star has become a different beast under Morrison

When West Bromwich Albion lost 2-1 against fellow Championship relegation rivals Oxford United right at the start of James Morrison’s newest interim reign, the Baggies looked destined for the drop.

Since then, however, Morrison has spearheaded a sensational nine-game unbeaten run, with a 3-0 victory over Watford clinched on Tuesday night, meaning the West Midlands outfit are now eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Barring a catastrophic points deduction, West Brom do now look safe in the punishing division, with Oxford stuck five points adrift of safety in 22nd, despite once getting the better of Morrison and Co.

The former playing legend is in with a real shout of the main manager’s gig, if he wants it, with Daryl Dike finally finding his shooting boots, again, under the 39-year-old’s transformative regime.

Dike’s transformation under Morrison

The American striker is well-known at this point for being a walking injury problem at the Hawthorns, with a staggering 128 games missed through injury across his last five seasons at the club.

Dike’s horrible injury luck at West Brom
Stat	Dike
Games played	66
Goals scored	11
Assists	3
Games missed through injury	128
Days missed through injury	861

With these injury problems troubling his goalscoring form, too, with no goals put away this season under the dire reigns of both Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay, a summer exit looked inevitable.

Now, he has breathed considerable life back into his Baggies playing days, with the ex-Orlando City striker bagging West Brom’s second against the Hornets.

Also scoring during West Brom’s comfortable 2-0 victory on the road at Preston North End, there appears to be a fire in the 25-year-old’s belly again, when everything pointed in the direction of him leaving the Championship side for good, at the close of the campaign.

It’s a testament to how much more Morrison is getting out of his camp at the moment, with players who previously looked battered and bruised in the pits of a relegation battle now soaring again under his fresh managerial methods.

Dike is far from being the only beast who has been totally transformed by the interim head coach, though…

West Brom star has enjoyed a better revival than Dike

While Dike’s transformation is obviously stunning to see, West Brom’s defence needed a lot more work when Morrison was handed the reins post-Ramsay.

From Ramsay’s disastrous nine games in charge, the Baggies were leaking goals for fun, with 18 strikes given up across his winless stint, as Danny Imray looked completely out of his depth in the Championship.

While Dike has suffered from injury after injury, he had shone in the second tier previously, putting away nine goals.

In Imray’s case, a loan move to West Brom – away from parent side Crystal Palace – was his first taste of the hustle and bustle of the EFL’s elite league, and it was proving to be a humbling learning curve.

Indeed, his Championship debut in late January against Portsmouth saw the 22-year-old put in an abject display, with only five accurate passes completed, and three out of seven duels won, as Pompey convincingly pummelled the visitors from the West Midlands 3-0.

Now, Imray is a different animal altogether from his unconvincing start in Baggies blue and white, with the revitalised number 30 not missing a single minute of action for Morrison’s men in the second tier since a 15-minute run-out against Oxford in February.

He was particularly impressive against Watford mid-week, as he made sure of the invaluable 3-0 win when tapping home a rebound.

Away from picking up his first-ever West Brom goal, Imray would also collect an assist – when he previously struggled to complete a basic pass – when finding Isaac Price in space for the opener, win a ridiculous 13 tackles and duels combined, and complete three successful dribbles as a rampaging presence on the left.

While Dike blowing off the cobwebs is impressive, Imray has suddenly become a man reborn for West Brom, during what is his first-ever season at the demanding level.

Both the one-time Blackpool loanee and the American marksman will hope the first team appearances just keep coming, with more wins needed to be secured, to ensure West Brom don’t fall victim to a nasty deduction, which potentially costs them a second-tier spot.