Carlos Corberan: West Brom boss says club will have busy summer

It’s never a nice feeling being on the end of a defeat in a play-off semi-final. But most Albion fans are realistic enough to know that Southampton were the better team on the night.

More importantly, in terms of the bigger picture, finishing fifth was a great achievement in itself given the state of the club at the start of the season.

Reclusive owner Guochan Lai was still in place and there was a very real possibility that the Baggies could face financial ruin but they end it with American businessman Shilen Patel in place.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Radio WM in March just after taking over, Patel said they were planning for all eventualities – including remaining in the Championship.

From Patel’s comments back then, and those of head coach Carlos Corberan at St Mary’s, there is no bottomless pot of money.

An £11 million annual loss was announced in the most recent financial figures and we already know the next set of books will be more severe.

That means a bit of a summer overhaul, as ageing players on decent money move on, while Albion fans wait nervously to see if player-of-the-season Cedric Kipre and midfielder Alex Mowatt can be tempted into new deals.

But there should be plenty of positivity heading into next season that Corberan can achieve something special.

Steve Hermon, BBC Radio WM