Michael O’Neill responds to claim he has ‘soft spot’ for West Brom ahead of Stoke clash
Stoke City boss Michael O’Neill has spent many years with a close connection to West Brom through his time with Northern Ireland.
The ex-international boss spent many hours at the Hawthorns watching the likes of Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley and Chris Brunt.
“Those three players were excellent for me, a big part of the squad that qualified for France in 2016, but I wouldn’t say I have any soft spot for them (Albion) in any shape or form,” he told the Stoke Sentinel.
“We’ll go there obviously with the intention to try and win the game. It’s a great stadium, like here. The atmosphere in the stadiums, even at Championship level, is very good.”
There are no surprises there, and Slaven Bilic will expect to meet a manager who is determined to pick up three points at the Hawthorns and create a bigger gap to the relegation zone.
Stoke have picked up seven points in their last five Championship fixtures – compared to the Baggies who have only managed four.
Bilic will be wanting his side to kick on and take advantage of Leeds’ slip up against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, a win would put them four points ahead at the top.
A game against Stoke won’t be as easy as some may predict though, and West Brom won’t have it all their own way in the quest for their first league win since the victory over Birmingham more than a month ago.
In other West Brom news, this 28-year-old admits he deserves his spot, claims he can ‘stand out’ in C’Ship