Jonas Olsson believes Albion’s opening day hammering at Chelsea could turn out to be one of the best things that will happen to the team all season.

No, the Swedish defender isn’t losing his mind. But he is convinced that the scale of the defeat immediately brought Roberto Di Matteo’s squad together with fresh determination not to make the experience a gateway to crisis.

Since then, two much-improved performances against Sunderland and Liverpool suggests Olsson has a point – and the visit of Spurs tomorrow gives the Baggies another opportunity to drive home the point.

“It might sound strange but sometimes it’s better to lose a game 6-0,” argued the Swede.

“You know that after a result like that there is going to be a big reacton and I think that is exactly what we showed, first against Sunderland and even at Liverpool.

“We all felt terrible coming back from Stamford Bridge.

“But we showed there is good morale in this club by the way we bounced back directly afterwards.

“We know we’re going to lose some games this year and we’re not going to get any easy matches but this game is all about the way you bounce back and doing it as quickly as possible.

“You can’t feel sorry for yourselves after a bad result and we have not done that. we turned a negative into a positive experience for us all and that is the way we must approach things for the rest of the season.”

The Spurs challenge continues a demanding start for Albion and while Olsson believes the team have already registered a tougher physical presence than in the Premier League campaign of two years ago, he believes a stronger mentality is equally important.

“People talking about going to Liverpool – and then Arsenal and United after this – as ‘nothing to lose games’,” he said.

“But I don’t believe in that attitude. I think you are already beaten if you approach matches like that.

“We have got to go into those games believing we can get a result providing we apply ourselves correctly.”

And to that end, he sees the final acquisition of the transfer period as vital.

Paul Scharner is set for a debut tomorrow and the 30-year-old brings with him exactly the type of leadership qualities for which Albion have been crying out.

“We got a few players in just before the window closed and Paul is a key one – he is a big character,” said Olsson.

“He’s a big presence and a big guy – I welcome him. He’s experienced and he will do well for us.

“The general view of our team up until now is that we can play football but we’re a bit soft. Bringing in players like Paul will help us change that.”

Olsson laughs at the view that Albion have gained back-door bonuses with the misfortune suffered by Michael Dawson and Jermain Defoe on England duty.

And as if to prove the point, Spurs new boy Rafael van der Vaart has been talking about his new club boasting “one of the best squads in Europe” after his first day’s training in readiness for a debut.

“I’ve looked through the squad and it’s one of the best squads in Europe,” said the Dutch playmaker.

“We have great players, young players. One of the first players I met was William Gallas. He’s a great defender, big, strong, I’m glad I’m on his side!

“We have Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe is one of the best strikers around, Aaron Lennon is so quick, Gareth Bale, so many good players, I could go on and on.

“We’re playing Champions League as well and that’s a big thing. We’re in a great group with some great teams and I’m really looking forward to playing. I think we can achieve a lot of goals here this season.”