Are Leeds & West Brom going to bottle it? – Bilic responds to element of negative doubts
Slaven Bilic has responded to an element of people wondering whether or not Leeds United and West Brom could ‘bottle’ promotion this season.
The Baggies’ nearest rivals, Leeds, were tormented last season after they threw away promotion by losing in the play-offs against Derby County.
Bilic claimed that this also applies to Fulham and Friday night’s opponent Brentford, as they try and catch the runaway top-two in the Championship.
The Croatian insisted that other teams would rather be in the position of West Brom at this moment, claiming that he wouldn’t swap his side’s position for anything.
“The negative thing about being first or second is there’s an element of people wondering ‘Are Leeds and us going to bottle it?’ That applies to Fulham and Brentford too, but they are hoping that happens,” he said, via Leeds Live.
“They would rather be in our position. It’s better to be where we are. Is it difficult? Of course, it’s difficult.
“You can crumble, but if you’re together that’s a big thing. I wouldn’t swap with anyone of them.”
Bilic is spot on, the Baggies are in a perfect position right now and will only be concentrating on what they can do rather than others around them.
Brentford and Fulham may want to raise the pressure on the top-two, but they will know that their success, if any, will have to be based on both Albion and Leeds dropping points.
The destiny of promotion is firmly in the hands of the top-two right now, and they will both know that a handful of wins in the next fortnight will all but seal their place in the Premier League next season.
Prediction expert Nate Silver has claimed that it would be a massive shock if either of Leeds or West Brom missed out on automatic promotion, with both having over an 80% chance of finishing in the top-two [FiveThirtyEight].
In other West Brom news, Romaine Sawyers has been in contact with his former teammates ahead of the clash at Brentford
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