West Brom caretaker Jimmy Shan: No special treatment for Jack Grealish

Grealish has been instrumental in Villa’s recent run of form, which has seen them enjoy a club record 10-game winning streak.

But Albion caretaker Shan is wary of doubling up on the talismanic captain in the play-offs and leaving space for others to capitalise on.

“We’re looking at stopping Aston Villa, not anyone in particular,” said Shan. “Jack is someone who has had a fantastic season and is a fantastic player.

“They’ve got some great talent throughout their squad and people who can cause problems.

“It would be foolish for us to just steer our focus towards stopping one player because of how much of a threat they are as a team.

“Within that we need to understand the threats individual players have.

“That’s part of preparing your team to make sure you stop them from gaining any dominance or control and ultimately any penetration and scoring goals.”

Albion travel to Villa Park on Saturday lunch-time for the first leg of their semi-final double-header and Shan admitted he would happily return to The Hawthorns with the scores level.

“We'll definitely go there with a mentality of winning a game of football,” said Shan. “But of course you would take a draw.

“If you can go into the second tie level pegging that gives both teams something to aspire to and something to play for.

“I'll take a draw but our mentality is to try and gain a win in any game we play.”

Albion have been branded underdogs by the majority of pundits but Villa boss Dean Smith insisted yesterday the Baggies were favourites.

“I pay no attention to it whatsoever,” said Shan, when asked if the underdog tag was fair. “My best interests are the football club and making sure we prepare ourselves to the best of our ability.

“If people jump in saying West Brom are going to win this or that it would have no bearing on my mentality, thinking or approach.

“We know what we have to be and do. If we can turn up on Saturday and Tuesday and execute that will stand us in good stead.”