Slaven Bilic: Forget humility, West Brom deserve to be top
Albion manager Slaven Bilic believes his players ‘deserve’ the backing they’ve had from their fans this season as they chase promotion to the Premier League.
The Baggies sit top of the table in the Championship with nine wins and only one loss from 16 games.
Their impressive performances this term have seen fans flock back to The Hawthorns and Bilic praised his players and the supporters for their part.
“I’m not going to be humble, I think we deserve it,” he said.
“The players, they deserve a full crowd, a sell-out stadium, definitely.
“On the other hand it’s the whole package.
“I’m not saying it because the fans love to hear it, but we hear them. They’re a big part of it – they are also the squad.
“They’ve been great for us home and away.”
Bilic did, however, ask that the fans continue to support his team throughout a game, willing them on to rescue matches from losing positions.
“We had that Q&A the other day, a dinner, and I told them everything has been brilliant so far but it’s very difficult,” he added.
“It’s a marathon, it’s very hard – we are there and we’re happy to be there.
“And also to the fans, if it’s 10, 15 minutes or the 75th minute, it’s not ideal, we’re not playing good, we’re losing – just give us a chance until the end of the game – and they are doing that. I’m only saying that in theory, all these situations can affect the fans.
“They can expect that we’re going to cruise because we are playing good football and we are top of the league.
“Yes we are top of the league, but a couple weeks ago we played Stoke on Monday and the other guys play on Saturday or Sunday and suddenly we are fourth in the league. We are not 15 points clear, unfortunately.
“Against Barnsley, we are losing 2-0, of course they are not happy.
“You hear a little bit of moaning, that sound that’s killing the confidence of the players.
“It wasn’t big time and that’s what helped us a lot in that game.”
