Albion kick off 2012 at The Hawthorns tomorrow with defender Jonas Olsson convinced they are in better shape than last New Year’s Day – quite literally.

The Baggies begin the new year at home to Everton with Olsson adamant the team’s defensive shape gives them every chance of success in the next 12 months.

As they look to build on Boxing Day’s impressive defensive effort against Manchester City, the Sweden international believes boss Roy Hodgson’s attention to tactical detail is paying dividends.

The Baggies became the first English side this season to stop City scoring and moved to ninth-place in the Premier League with a goalless draw.

Olsson said: “Organisation’s been vital, definitely. We conceded two goals against Wigan but in most of the games recently we have been looking quite solid and conceded unusual goals.

“We’ve conceded six penalties and a couple of those were really harsh.

“Throughout the season we have been looking a lot more solid and that definitely comes down to the organisation and the shape of the team.

“It’s not only credit to the back four, it’s credit to Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie up front because they keep on running and putting players under pressure, which makes it so much easier for the back four and for Ben Foster in goal.”

Albion broke new ground on Boxing Day by shutting out a City side who had averaged more than three goals-per-game in the Premier League beforehand.

Olsson heaped praise on the club’s defenders and especially right-back Billy Jones, who replaced injured regular Steven Reid and claimed man-of-the-match honours with an eye-catching display.

And he believes his own central defensive partnership with Gareth McAuley is also developing well.

“We’re very proud,” said Olsson. “We defended well as a unit and Billy was one of the players who stood out. He did very well.

“We had a few chances to put the game away as well so it was a well-deserved point. As a defender you are very pleased with a clean sheet, especially against a team like Manchester City.

“We read the papers and stats before the game and I think they had scored an average of two or three goals-a-match so it’s very satisfying and let’s hope we can get a few more clean sheets.

“We have a good connection. Gareth McAuley has come in and really proved himself. We can all see he’s a top defender and I enjoy playing with him so hopefully we can keep playing together, putting down good results and get a few more clean sheets.”

Albion will be looking for a much-needed home win with Hodgson’s men having collected just two Hawthorns victories so far this term.

“It’s not that frustrating,” said Olsson. “Normally you take most of your points at home and this season we have been taking a lot of our points away.

“I would like to have a better home record, of course, but we’re on 22 points after almost half the season and that’s a pretty fair tally and a good record, I think.

“We felt we could compete last year and it’s the same this year as well.

“If we look at the games against Manchester United and Chelsea earlier in the season, we showed that we can compete against those teams.

“We didn’t get a result but we did very well and were a bit unlucky not to get anything from those games.

“On Monday (against City) we gave another good performance and managed to get a point from it as well.”