Express & Star

Slaven Bilic expresses pride in West Brom win

Slaven Bilic said he was proud of his players after Albion returned to winning ways with a thumping 3-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday.

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Slaven Bilic head coach / manager of West Bromwich Albion. (AMA)

A Charlie Austin penalty along with a brace from Matheus Pereira saw the Baggies secure their first win since the coronavirus outbreak - a result which restored their five-point cushion in the race for automatic promotion.

Albion had looked disjointed in games against Birmingham and Brentford but they emphatically returned to form once Austin’s 37th minute penalty set them on their way.

And Bilic was pleased with the way his players responded from the disappointment of their first two outings.

“There was pressure on us but we responded like a quality team,” the head coach said.

“Hopefully we are back in town. I’m really proud of the team.

“Straight after that first goal, it put them down five per cent and it put us up five per cent.

“That goal took away those questions marks, those little doubts we had because of the first couple of games.

“Then in the second half we controlled the game. We started to play really, really well let’s be honest.

“Still they hit the post - that was a very important moment in the game.

“But it was a very good performance, a great three points of course.

“It wasn’t just the first XI, the guys that came off the bench also made a really big impact.

“At this stage of the season, it’s the result that matters. But the performance is still very important so I’m very pleased.”

Bilic said Albion must move build on their performance at Hillsborough.

“We should use this now - I told the guys to take this game forward and to take confidence from this game," the Croatian continued.

“In this game, we needed the second goal to release those chains.

"And for the remainder of the season we needed this game - we needed this win to get in a situation where we shouldn’t have any question marks or doubts - the question marks and doubts you get at the start of a season if you don’t start well.

“Now we have gained momentum and we have to keep it and we have to build on it.”