‘Must win’ game for Albion

According to West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo – tonight’s game against Sheffield Wednesday is a ‘must win’.

We couldn’t agree more.

Having slipped up against QPR and slipped down into third place, this is our game in hand and our chance to get back into the automatic places. We need to get our promotion campaign back on track.

Roberto Di Matteo was very disappointed with the performance in the last game but did stop to remind everyone that ‘we still have our destiny in our own hands’.

Improvements need to made to match opposing teams in the basics: ‘That means the fighting, the tackling and all that stuff, then hopefully in the long-term our quality will shine.’

We have certainly lacked an edge, especially in defence. Players need to sharpen up and make some better choices.

Pay attention and eradicate the errors.

Di Matteo admitted that the hectic fixture list has delayed their attempts to analyse and work on their defending satisfactorily.

Elaborating this point he said: ‘We haven`t had much time to work on defending, shape and work like that, and we`ve had a few changes in personnel.

‘But also we need to pay more attention and that`s what I`ve said to the team. We need to pay more attention defensively and make sure that we don`t give away soft goals, because it`s hard to get back into the game after that.’

Tonight’s opponents, Sheffield Wednesday, will arrive at The Hawthorns having had some mixed results since the arrival of manager Alan Irvine in January.

They currently sit third from the bottom of the table, level on points with Crystal Palace who are a place above them.

For Albion, James Morrison and Steven Reid look set to be in the starting line-up this evening, having both returned from injury for the QPR game last weekend.

The boss said: ‘There’s always a risk when a player`s been out for so long that you may get a set-back. But James seems to be fine. He feels okay and he`s been playing. We just have to monitor him and be sensible.

‘We hope Steven can cope with the intensity. We need some steady defenders. Yes, it`s a fact that he hasn`t played regularly lately.

‘It`s not ideal but I think he`ll be okay. He`s got experience, he should have the composure to play a little but under pressure – he is a good player.’

In what could be a decisive month for West Brom this season it’s time to show our credentials as a potential Premiership side.

Because Nottingham Forest, Swansea, Leicester, and Cardiff are all just waiting for us to slip up.