‘Be stupid to not’ – Promotion rival skipper sends top two warning to West Brom
Brentford captain Pontus Jansson has claimed it would be “stupid” if he and his teammates didn’t have at least one eye on usurping West Brom in the Championship top two.
The Bees gave themselves a major boost in their bid to secure a first ever promotion to the Premier League on Saturday with a late 2-0 victory over third-placed Fulham.
For their part, Slaven Bilic’s men dropped two points with a 0-0 stalemate against local rivals Birmingham City.
And while that did allow them to leapfrog Leeds United at the top of the table on goal difference, it also meant that Brentford were able to narrow the gap slightly to eight points.
Albion square up against Thomas Frank’s men on Friday evening, and Jansson believes that his side should be firmly focussed on catching the Baggies between now and the end of the season.
Speaking to Sky Sports in a post-match interview during their coverage of yesterday’s clash with Fulham (Sky Sports Main Event, June 20th, 12pm), he said: “I think we need to do that. I mean, why not?
“Now we play West Bromwich on Friday and especially after three points today it’s an even bigger reason why we should look to the top two.
“Of course we are looking for that and if we can’t reach the top two then of course we just need to switch on and prepare for the play-offs but I think we would just be stupid to not look at the top two.”
You have to admire Jansson’s gumption, but even with that win against Fulham yesterday, Brentford have an awful lot to do.
The gap between ourselves and the Bees is still eight points with games left to play.
No matter which way you look at it, that is a mountain that would have to be climbed if they were to overtake us.
That being said, Friday’s game is still a must-win fixture for the Baggies.
If they can open up an 11-point gap on Brentford it would essentially take them out of the running for an automatic spot, leaving Fulham as the only real threat.
Even then, you would have to class them as rank outsiders.
In other West Brom news, View: Albion player surely facing axe v Brentford after poor Saturday display.