Build-up of injury frustration told, admits West Brom's Jayson Molumby of friendly punch-up

Molumby, 25, was hit with a five-match friendly ban by the Football Association after exchanging blows with Real Mallorca's Samu Costa during a behind-closed-doors friendly against the Spaniards in the summer.

The Albion midfielder – who has started the season in fine form and netted the winner against Swansea last Saturday – hopes to win his 25th cap for the Republic of Ireland as new boss Heimir Hallgrimsson leads his side into a Nations League clash against England at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The former Brighton youngster spent the entire second half of the season on the sidelines after a problematic foot injury and admitted "a lot of frustration and anger" got the better of him in the incident, which was dealt with internally by the club and head coach Carlos Corberan.

Asked if that lay-off had contributed towards the incident, Molumby said: "Yeah, probably, to be honest.

"It was the build-up of six or seven months before that, a lot of frustration, a lot of anger. Obviously I didn't handle myself the best there and was probably going through a difficult time.

"It's obviously something I'm not proud of, but I'm only human as well. I have emotions as well and I can only hold my hands up when I'm wrong.

"Off the pitch, I'm not an aggressive person at all, I'm quite calm and relaxed. But I think I just go into competitive mode when I cross the line. It's a different ball game.

"Managers throughout my career have tried to calm me down a little bit. It's just about me channelling that and putting it into the right things, and I feel as if I've done that."

The energetic Baggies midfielder was supporters' player of the season at The Hawthorns in 2022/23 but saw last season's play-off push derailed by injury.

He has rediscovered his best Albion form to kickstart the current campaign under Corberan, however, and has been a driving force in midfield alongside Alex Mowatt.

Molumby was fast-tracked to the senior ranks by Icelander Hallgrimsson's predecessor Stephen Kenny, his former manager at under-21s level.

Hallgrimsson raised eyebrows last month when he suggested his team needed a "b*****d" as he attempts to restore the team's fortunes, although Molumby is not convinced he is that man.

He said with a smile: "No, I don't think so. I don't know where that came from. Only he knows. I don't even know how to answer that."

Kenny replace Mick McCarthy in April 2020 and vowed to play a more expansive brand of football, packing his squad with young players and urging them to express themselves.

He left in November after presiding over just six victories in 29 competitive matches, a return upon which Molumby and his team-mates are desperate to improve.

The midfielder said: "There's no more excuses for us anymore. We were young lads coming in, but now we've got the experience.

"It's not good enough any more to say, 'Ah, you're young' or whatever. We're experienced now at international level. It's time to kick on for us.

"For us as a group we need to start taking the next step. Competing isn't enough anymore, we want to actually start getting points, hopefully starting on Saturday."