Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
QUESTION TIME
And my Baggies side have to come up with all the answers warns Bilic
WEST BROM boss Slaven Bilic has told his players to stay calm as they face crunch time in the race for promotion.
The Baggies hold a four-point lead at the top going into today’s game at promotion rivals Bristol City.
Bilic has asked his men to give him one last push for glory and leave nothing to chance both on and off the field. He is demanding they give total effort to see the job through and says this is the time that mental strength comes to the fore.
Bilic said: “You have to stay focused. I tell them: ‘It’s only a couple of months of your life but now it gets tougher and tougher and you have to be physically and mentally prepared.’
“It will be very demanding now. Play a game, then that’s one fewer and hopefully with a bigger gap. There will be a lot of questions asked of us all now and we have to be ready to answer them.”
Bilic admits he keeps a very watchful eye on his players from this stage of the season, but resists the temptation to lay down the law.
“We have little talks,” he said. “I don’t want big meetings with the lights dimmed because that only adds to the pressure.
“Of course, you have to make them aware (of what is at stake) but I don’t think the do-or-die approach helps. That said, they still need to know that this is definitely no time to take opponents lightly.”
Only Liverpool in the top four divisions have won more away games than West Brom’s 10 but after today’s trip they have three successive home matches.
Bilic is set for a double boost with vastly experienced duo Kieran Gibbs and Gareth Barry back in full training after injury.