Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HAL RAISER
Return of Robson-kanu to a central role has lifted Albion clear of the chasing pack for place in Prem
HAL ROBSON-KANU has thanked Slaven Bilic for making him the central figure in West Brom’s revitalised promotion surge.
The Baggies striker scored twice as the Championship leaders moved nine points clear of third-placed Fulham. Not so long ago, they were having a wobble but have since found their second wind.
The resurgence has coincided with boss Bilic switching Robson-kanu from the wing to play as a target man – a call which has helped provide 13 points from a possible last 15. “The manager had seen enough that that was my best position, leading the line and playing down the middle,” said the 30-year-old former Wales striker.
“I want to keep doing what I’m doing. There is a massive desire in the group to keep picking up points. I have always been confident in my ability – at what I can bring to the team.
“But it’s not about me, it’s about the squad and the group and about maintaining this level of performance.”
The Robins – weakened by a bug that had gone through their squad – were made to look feeble, with even Robsonkanu’s old Wales team-mate Ashley Williams given an uncomfortable time.
It was Williams’ error that enabled Robson-kanu to score his second and Albion’s third goal just moments after they had been reduced to 10 men with the 77th-minute dismissal of Romaine Sawyers. The midfielder was shown a straight red card for putting his hand to the throat of Jamie Paterson, leading to a bust-up between the two dug-outs.
Robson-kanu celebrated by running directly back to the touchline, but claimed there was no malice.
“I was just going to our bench to celebrate,” he insisted. “Emotions were running high after losing a man, but more importantly we got the three points.
“The boys have shown a mentality, a desire and commitment all season. To get three goals away from home, a clean sheet, and with a man down, just shows the mentality of the group.”
Callum Robinson gave West Brom the lead with a bizarre rebound, before Robson-kanu’s tap-in made it 2-0 after Bristol City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley had spilled the ball.
All three goals stemmed from errors and Robins full-back Jay Dasilva said: “If you make mistakes against the top teams in big games they will make it count.
“There are 12 games left. We know what we need to do and it’s now up to us.”