Jonas Olsson warns West Brom against New Year complacency
Friday 30th December 2011, 2:00PM GMT.
West Brom defender Jonas Olsson today warned the Baggies that New Year complacency could still land them in a relegation scrap.
The Sweden international urged his team-mates not to get carried away with their impressive end to 2011, after discovering they have an identical record to 12 months ago.
Their tally of 22 points from 18 games is the same as last year, although they are three places better off in ninth spot.
Last season brought a mid-season slump that cost Roberto Di Matteo the head coach’s job and Olsson is conscious that the current campaign could still head in several directions.
He said: “I spoke to our sporting director, Dan Ashworth, last week and he asked me what I thought we were on at this stage last year. I thought it was maybe 17 or 18 points, but he said it was 22.
“We’re right where we were last season and that’s why I say we need to stay humble and keep our focus on our goal which is, hopefully, securing survival and then looking ahead.
“You need to be reaslistic about the second Premier League year and be humble about your task. You need to focus on firstly securing another season, then when you’re there you can set a new goal.
“We haven’t achieved anything yet, so why change the goal?”
Wins at Blackburn and Newcastle followed by an impressive home draw with Manchester City have propelled Roy Hodgson’s side into the top half of the table.
Olsson reckons they are capable of beating last season’s 11th-place finish, but warned they could also be dragged back into the scrap for survival.
He said: “We’re ninth at the moment and I could see us staying here, but I am also humble enough to look at where Birmingham were this time last year.
“They were somewhere like us and went down.”
UK Sport
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
Saddlers Blog
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
