Bilic brings out best in wonder kid Ferguson

NATHAN FERGUSON believes the guiding hand of WEST

BROM manager Slaven Bilic (right) is a major factor in his rise. The 18-year-old opened the scoring in a 2-0 win at QPR to help send the Hawthorns outfit to the top of the Championship. It has been a whirlwind start for the Birmingham-born defender, who joined the club at eight years old and made his first team debut under the Croat. His goal, which made him the youngest League scorer for WBA for 10 years, capped off an excellent display at Loftus Road, but he was quick to admit his manager is a big influence. He said: ‘He keeps me humble, which is good. He keeps me wanting to do more. He’s teaching me to stay grounded and focused.’

SWANSEA were seconds away from topping the table until Andy Yiadom earned struggling READING a 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium. It left Swans manager Steve Cooper angry with referee Keith Stroud after he decided not to send off Lucas Boye for what appeared to be two bookable offence. ‘We are on the end of some poor decisions at the moment,’ he said. PRESTON and BRISTOL CITY shared six goals in an incident-packed contest at Deepdale. Danny Ward rescued a late point for CARDIFF in a 2-2 draw at HULL but manager Neil Warnock described the outcome as a ‘total disappointment’.

HUDDERSFIELD managed to end a seven-game losing run but were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against MILLWALL after an error by keeper Kamil Grabara. Garry Monk’s return to the Riverside was a happy one as

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY beat MIDDLESBROUGH 4-1. Matty Pearson scored against his first club as LUTON won 2-1 at BLACKBURN to end a three-match losing streak.