SLAVEN’S HEAVY METTLE

Angry boss Bilic turned to Metallica to inspire Baggies – and they have been brilliant

Barnsley v West Brom KO 3pm HARDMAN Slaven Bilic isn’t afraid to get a bit heavy with his tabletopping West Brom players.

His Baggies stars got him to the Christmas No.1 spot – and it could all be due to an unexpected blast of Metallica.

Bilic (top) is a big fan of the American heavy metal rockers, and goes into today’s clash at Barnsley with his side top of the pile on the back of a 13-match unbeaten run.

It’s all made for a happy Christmas with star striker Charlie Austin (right) revealing that while life under the 51-year-old Croatian has been sweet, there’s no one in the dressing room who would want to cross him.

Austin, who has scored six goals in his last six appearances, said: “He’s been brilliant from the moment I spoke to him on deadline day. He sold his vision to me, what he wanted to achieve, and where I fitted in. He’s very similar to Sean Dyche – chilled to a certain degree.

“But when he needs to get his point across, or if you cross the line, he’ll soon let you know.

“Nobody in the dressing room takes it too far or tries to push boundaries. When that starts happening, the cracks start appearing. “I’ve been involved at a club where that happened before and it only goes one way. “At QPR away, he was fed up with the music in the dressing room and put his own stuff on. I think it was Metallica. Nobody dared tell him to turn it off !” Barnsley midfielder Jordan Williams believes the Tykes can upset West Brom. They could climb out of the bottom three for the first time this season with a win and Williams said: “We’re still trying to get out of the relegation zone, we just need to kick on.”