Express & Star

Jonas Olsson: Look how far we've come

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Defender Jonas Olsson brushed off the boo-boys at the end of the Villa game because he is proud of how far the Albion has come over the past few years.

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The big Swede joined the Baggies back in 2008 and in his first season the club finished bottom of the Premier League.

Although he knows expectations change, he remembers a time when Albion were not expected to beat their rivals.

"I was happy with the point, disappointed with our performance," said Olsson. "It was a good point for us. Derby games kind of lead their own life so it's always tough to bag three points but we played solidly. We didn't play our best game or our best football, but we dug a result out. In the end, to get four points out of Villa in a year is a good achievement for West Brom.

"Bearing in mind I've been here eight years and I remember when this club, in regards to Villa, they were miles ahead of us. I'm not saying we're miles ahead of them now, but we're certainly the team in this area that's doing well and have been for the last few years.

"I understand expectations rise, but they have expectations because we've had six or seven years on the bounce in the Premier League. That's a good achievement for a team like us."

Albion have only lost one out of the last seven games and the centre-half says it's important to pick up points when you're playing badly.

"That's normally testament to a good team, to dig results out when you're not on top of your game," he said. "We had three games on the road leading up to it.

"We played Chelsea midweek, went straight to Southampton stayed there, played them, and went back home.

"Went to Bristol and played there on a tough surface.

"They're all things to put into the equation, especially at this time of year when the games are so frequent."