West Brom's Semi Ajayi brimming with confidence
Albion's Semi Ajayi has received a further boost to his confidence after keeping the likes of Neymar, Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus quiet during the international break.
The 25-year-old has been in impressive form ever since joining the Baggies from Rotherham in the summer.
Last weekend, though, the defender was part of the Nigerian side that drew 1-1 with Brazil in Singapore.
The Eagles took the lead through Joe Aribo before Casemrio equalised for the five-time World Cup winners.
And Ajayi, who will be part of the Albion squad that takes on Middlesbrough on Saturday, admits it was a nice feeling to keep Brazil's attacking stars quiet.
"I’ve given myself a lot of confidence coming up against the big stars," he said.
"Hopefully I can carry that form into our league game on the weekend.
“You want to play against the best players and test yourself. If you come out of that with a good performance and result that is even better so the trip went really well.
“I don’t really focus on their names, it is more about what they do on the pitch. I felt like myself and my team-mates dealt with their threats really well and it is something we can take a lot of pride from.”
Despite his impressive start to the campaign, Ajayi insists his best is still to come – with head coach Slaven Bilic always giving him pointers on how he can improve his game.
"I’ve been happy with how I have played," the defender continued.
"But there is definitely still more to come from me.
"The start has been really good and I just need to kick on now.
"Slaven talks to me daily, he is always giving me pointers on how I can improve or little bits of information that he thinks could help me that I may not have seen.
"I am always picking his brains for things I can learn.
"He has been really, really good with me.”
Albion head to the Riverside Stadium sitting top of the Championship having amassed 22 points from their opening 11 games.
But Ajayi is adamant being top of the league doesn't come with any extra pressure.
"There is no added pressure because the goals are the same," he added.
"What we want to achieve at the end of the season is the same.
"Everyone is on the same page, the manager has got us singing off the same hymn sheet."
