Slav’s sure his side can Bag promotion despite pressure
SLAVEN BILIC has issued a defiant message that West Brom cope with the pressure of chasing automatic promotion.
The Baggies boss says that lockdown has changed the emphasis on the race to the big-money league.
Bilic heaved a sigh of relief in midweek as a three-goal win at Sheffield Wednesday pushed the one-time Championship pacesetters back on the heels of tabletopping Leeds United.
West Brom had taken one point from their opening two fixtures after lockdown, leading to suggestions that they were losing their bottle.
But the former West Ham chief says the three-month sabbatical has added to the pressure.
He said: “When you are in the top two it’s not, ‘Are we going to make it?’ it’s, ‘Are we going to lose it?’
“We knew that. We didn’t need those three games since lockdown to find that out.
“As I said after Brentford, maybe the others are under less pressure but I wouldn’t swap with them. “We’ve been in this position for the whole season – and I loved it, I loved that the reaction to us not picking up points was, ‘Oh, it’s really bad.’
“But if you look at the teams around us that were in the top seven before the restart: Okay, Brentford, maximum points, Forest seven points, but after that we are in big trouble – but we have got the same points as Leeds.
“Fulham have fewer points – not to mention Preston and Bristol.
“It’s not like everyone else is flying and we are in a real crisis. I’m glad that the group here reacted very quickly at Sheffield Wednesday.”
The Baggies have struggled against the Championship’s lesser lights at home.
So far this season they have lost to Wigan, Stoke and Middlesbrough and drawn with Barnsley.
Today’s opponents Hull may have picked up their first victory since the new year with a late 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough but Bilic says the outcome is entirely in the hosts’ hands.
He said: “Against these teams we have lacked intensity. In those games we didn’t provoke things on the pitch. We were waiting for something to happen by default.
“Nothing happens by default in football. You have to earn it. There are no free lunches in the Championship.”
Tigers boss Grant McCann is under no illusions over the challenge his Tigers side will face today in their battle to beat the drop.
Hull are on 45 points and McCann said that won’t be enough this season.
He said: “It’s going to be a lot higher than recent years. It’s so tight down there.
“We have to only focus on what we do and can’t worry about anything else.
“We’ve got a tough game at West Brom but we can go there with a bit of confidence now.
“They’re a very good footballing team. We have to make sure we’re defensively strong again.
“But we’ve got to bring our attacking intent to the game and look to go there and cause an upset.
“They’re one of the best teams in the league so we’re looking forward to it.”