Bart Verbruggen (left) says Albion must keep feet on the ground (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Bart Verbruggen (left) says Albion must keep feet on the ground (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Bart Verbruggen has put his clean sheet ritual on hold for a fortnight after Albion blunted Arsenal.
But his next round of coffees at the training ground might come with a warning about what lies ahead.
The Seagulls No.1 will meet new Holland boss Xavi Hernandez for the first time today as he heads for international duty.
The Argus recently revealed how Verbruggen buys coffees for all colleagues after a shut-out.
That treat will have to wait until the build-up to the Sunderland game on October 10 as players such as Verbruggen now head for international duty.
But he might serve it with a warning to keep feet on the ground after the 3-0 win over the champions.
He said: “We’ve had some good results and some good performances, but we have to stay grounded and try to get better again, because I think over the last couple of years we’ve seen that the period that’s coming now has been a struggle for us.
“So we have to be 100% alive and try to continue on this path.
“You can see the energy we bring on the pitch, the intensity we bring.
“We try to bring that every day in training.
“You just try to continue to improve every single day when we’re there.
“I’ll always be positive, but never satisfied. There’s no secret.
“It’s just hard work and dedication, and we got rewarded.
“But the next game can be tough again and we have to understand what makes us good and keep bringing that on to the pitch every single day.”
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Albion’s trip to Wearside launches a hectic period as the Conference League group stage then kicks in and the Carabao Cup tie at Manchester City also looms large.
Verbruggen, whose save from Kai Havertz ensured a fifth clean sheet already in all competitions, will happily get the coffees in before that.
He said: “Some boys said they are in on Monday and Tuesday, so they said, ‘Okay, you’re going to do it twice?’.
“I said, ‘No chance. I would only do it when I’m also in the building’.
“So they have to wait a little bit!”