Jimmy Shan: West Brom will need to be 'hell of a lot better' to beat Aston Villa

The Baggies were beaten 3-1 by Derby County on the final day of the regular season, missing out on a chance to finish third with Leeds losing to bottom club Ipswich.

It means Shan’s men will face Villa across two legs in the play-off semi-finals.

“We need to make sure we prepare in training and perform a hell of a lot better than that to have some success against Aston Villa,” said Shan.

“We spoke for about five minutes about things tactically, work-ethic and application. That probably went missing out of us at 3-1.

“Those are the most disappointing things. The goals we conceded and our work-ethic for a 15 or 20 minute period in the game.”

Albion created plenty of chances in the first half and drew level shortly after half-time, but Derby’s intensity overpowered them in the second half.

Shan believes the Baggies may have had one eye on the play-offs, but said there’s no excuses from here on in.

“I spoke to the players and there was some honest assessments,” he said. “Maybe having cemented our place for so long and having the play-offs round the corner, sometimes that can act as a bit of a distraction.

“That distraction has gone now, there’s no excuse and we know exactly who we’re up against.

“I’m disappointed,” he added. “The biggest thing for me was the nature of all three goals.

“After they scored the third our level of application and work-rate wasn’t acceptable.”

Derby’s third goal came from a questionable penalty after Tom Lawrence went over in the box.

“I’ve looked back and can’t find any contact,” said Shan. “What would concern me tactically is how he got in there.

“Our one v one defending in our 18-yard box wasn’t good enough. The route he got into that territory wasn’t acceptable.

“Whether he dived or not is by the by. We’ll look to rectify that and improve that. We’ve got to move on.”