BILIC: MY BAGGIES HAVE MOMENTUM BACK

NONE of his managerial rivals can quite do ‘hangdog’ like Slaven Bilic – but the West Brom boss can still manage ‘bushy-tailed’, too.

The Baggies’ first victory in eight Championship matches meant their manager could replace his recent downcast look for one with a glint in his eye.

In fact, thanks to an owngoal from Donervon Daniels and a powerful header to wrap things up from Semi Ajayi, it could be Leeds’ stone-faced Marcelo Bielsa who’s smiling least at the end of the season.

Both of the runaway division leaders had slowed to a crawl, but this win against a stubborn Luton sent Bilic’s men back to the top of the table.

It was far from the easy flowing style that had taken the Baggies to the summit before the turn of the year, but there was enough graft, perseverance and a first home clean sheet of the season to see them through.

There was also a promising debut from winger Callum Robinson – a deadline day loan from Sheffield United – to further encourage Bilic.

“We needed that and we deserved it, completely,” said the

Albion chief after his team’s first league win since December 14.

“Recent results can affect the best teams, so we went back to planned things – not

‘back to basics’ – but to the correct things.

“It was crucial today that we did that. We also created a lot from winning second balls, and we limited them to one real chance in the game.

“I felt we probably should have scored two or three more goals.”

It’s possible to view a team with just one win in eight games sitting on top of the league as a sign of the division’s competitiveness, but more likely it indicates the absence of any one outstanding team.

Bilic added: “In this league, so much is about momentum. Your position in the table doesn’t mean a lot, it’s more about how you approach a game.

“The momentum is back. But we have to keep it. We have to do everything to avoid the situation we were in before, because it wasn’t a nice situation to be in.”

Luton were denied an equaliser when James Collins was offside, and appealed for a penalty when Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu was upended by Ajayi.

Their manager, Graeme Jones, was optimistic about their situation and with some cause as they might have earned a point with better luck.

“In football, you get either one of two things – reward or development,” said Jones.

“Today, we’ve added to our development against a team who are top of the league.

“And from where I was it looked like we should have had a penalty. I’ve never seen him [Mpanzu] dive in my life.”

Albion went ahead when Robinson crossed and Daniels scored past his own keeper.

Ajayi used his head to settle matters in the 70th minute.