Slaven Bilic rues a lack of West Brom sharpness against Blues
Slaven Bilic was pleased with the way Albion adapted to playing without supporters – even though they were held to a goalless draw by Birmingham.
Following a three month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Baggies resumed their push for promotion when they hosted their West Midlands rivals on Saturday.
In what was the first of nine Championship games they will play behind closed doors, Bilic's men dominated from the first whistle to the last.
But they struggled to create clear-cut chances against a resolute Blues side.
Nevertheless, the boss was pleased with his sides attitude and work rate – things he believes can dip without fans in the ground.
"The only thing I was disappointed with was our final product – everything else was there," Bilic said.
"We had 21 shots and 35 crosses. Some of them were great crosses. But our positioning in the box wasn't great.
"It wasn't skill, it wasn't quality. It's sharpness. And to get match sharpness you need matches.
"Everything else was there. Don't get me wrong, we weren't brilliant.
"But considering everything, the fact it was the first game, there were no fans, we have not played for three months. I saw a lot of positive things.
"We never lost our shape, we never lost that front footed mentality. And we were motivated, the intensity was there."
Prior to the game against Blues, Albion arranged friendlies against Villa and Manchester United in a bid to get used to playing behind closed doors without supporters.
And Darnell Furlong – making his first Championship start since January – felt those friendlies were key to the Baggies settling quickly on Saturday.
"I'm really proud of the performance – we played well we just didn't get the result," he said.
"It is difficult playing behind closed doors but to be fair the staff prepared us really well.
"We managed to have two games where we split up minutes tried to get used to playing competitive games without fans.
"Sometimes you can go to a stadium without fans and it can feel a little bit like a training game or a pre-season game.
"But the two games we had behind closed doors prepared us for that, that it's a real game and we are fighting for something."
Meanwhile, Bilic said he expects Albion to soon be able to announce they have signed Matheus Pereira on a permanent deal.
The clash with Blues marked the Brazilian's 30 Championship start – triggering a clause which means the Baggies have to buy him from Sporting Lisbon.
Now widely seen as the best player in the Championship, Albion have always made it clear to the Portuguese side they will buy the 23-year-old.
Contractually, however, the deal now has to be done and will be announced once both clubs have completed the formalities of paper work.
That could mean Pereira is announced as a permanent Albion player before Friday's trip to Brentford.
"We expect to tie it up soon," Bilic said.
"I now consider him (Pereira) as our player, a permanent player."
