Conor Townsend: West Brom players have taken to James Shan

Shan has steered the Baggies to six points from a possible six, and has now been given the next match against Birmingham City to stake a claim for the rest of the season.

Townsend, who has played both games under Shan with first-choice left-back Kieran Gibbs injured, says the team has taken to his training sessions.

And he hopes the Baggies continue to repay the caretaker, who has been a personal help to him earlier this season when he wasn’t playing.

“I think it’s always tough when a manager leaves somewhere but I think we’ve reacted pretty well,” said Townsend.

“To get two good wins off the back of it has been good for everyone’s morale around the place.

“We know Jimmy, he’s been around the place all year and the young lads know him from years gone by.

“Everyone’s enjoyed it, everyone’s took to his training and got on with it.

“Hopefully we’ve repaid him with the performances in the last couple of games.

“We’ve worked with him all year. He’s a brilliant guy always there to help throughout the season.

“Even when personally I haven’t been playing he’s always been there to talk about anything.

“I’m delighted he’s got the chance and we hope that we can repay him.”

Townsend, who joined last summer from Scunthorpe for £750,000, has stood in for Gibbs for the past three games, helping Albion win seven points.

He’s been part of a back-line that has kept two clean sheets under Shan.

Although he admitted it was a ‘big step up’ from League One, where he caught the eye last season, he hopes he’s shown some improvement in recent weeks.

“I think with playing a couple of games on the spin I’m getting better and better,” said the 26-year-old.

“It’s always tough coming out of the team, in for the cup games and then you’re back out.

“I’m just doing the best I can and trying to do my bit to keep this run going.

“I think from where I’ve been it’s a big step up. But I’ve genuinely enjoyed the first year even though I haven’t played as much as I would have liked.

“I’ve still learned and I’m still trying to improve – hopefully the last couple of games have started to show that. People can see the hard work that’s gone into the year.”

Shan is still eyeing up the top two, although he knows Albion need to win all their remaining games.

And Townsend is still targeting promotion this season, whether automatically or via the play-offs.

“The goal here is to get promoted whether I’m playing or not,” he said. “As a team, I’d rather see us getting promoted more than anything. I’d love to help as much as I can.”