Kyle: Let’s make Hawthorns graveyard for visitors

DEFENDER Kyle Bartley is keen to establish a fear factor among teams visiting The Hawthorns this season.

The ghosts of Albion’s shock opening-day Championship defeat to Bolton Wanderers have been banished by four straight home wins in all competitions.

And Bartley (pictured) wants the Baggies to ensure The Hawthorns remains a graveyard for opposition teams. “We’ve got to make this place a fortress,” he said. “That is pivotal in this league.

“We know teams are going to come here and almost be afraid of us if we keep playing the way we are. That is the kind of attitude we want the opposition to have and then we can control the game and dictate how we want to play.”

Under head coach Darren Moore’s new approach, Bartley and fellow members of Albion’s new-look back three are expected to build attacks with passes out of defence.

With such a strategy inevitably comes risk, prompting a warning from Bartley for fans to strap themselves in for a rollercoaster ride.

“The manager has come in with the new coaches and they want to implement a style of play they think will work in this league,” he said. “We think we’ve got the players to deal with it. There are always going to be hairy moments and chances being taken at the back.

“But we made chances at the other end from playing out from the back (against Stoke) and we ask the fans to stick with us.

“I know it is a bit nervy at times, but we believe in it and hope they believe in it as well.”