‘Crucial’ – Exclusive: Pundit makes ‘Huge’ claim about West Brom clash v Southampton
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips is hoping that West Brom will be able to bounce back from the disappointment of failing to beat Chelsea last weekend when they take on Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday.
Despite taking a three-goal lead into the break courtesy of a Callum Robinson brace and a rare goal by defender Kyle Bartley, Slaven Bilic side saw his side draw 3-3 with Chelsea to continue their winless start to the Premier League season.
Phillips believes that result will have been a kick in the teeth for West Brom and has called on the players to respond in a positive way because there was plenty to take from their draw with Frank Lampard’s side.
“Afterwards, I’m sure that dressing room felt as though it was a loss,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“But when the dust settles, which is probably has now, you have to take the positives from it and in that first half, there were a lot of positives.
“You would have to say that Chelsea were very sloppy but in the second half, Chelsea could have scored a lot more than three goals with the chances they made.
“You’ve got to take heart from scoring three goals against one of the top clubs in the league but they’ll be bitterly disappointed to have not won the game.
“Any game now where they do take the lead, they’ve got to forget about the Chelsea game and concentrate on what’s in front of them. But it will have a slight bearing next time if they get in that situation.”
Next up for West Brom is a trip to Southampton, who won their first points of the season last week by winning 1-0 away at Burnley.
Phillips has refused to dub the clash at St Mary’s as a must-win for the Baggies but believes that the pressure to get a result will only continue to rise if they fail to pick up points on the south coast.
“Getting that first win is crucial. I’ve been there in the Premier League when you’ve had a tough start as a newly-promoted side and it’s been difficult to get that first win,” the former Albion and Southampton striker added.
“Having come so close at the weekend, this game against Southampton is huge in terms of how they respond after losing a three-goal lead and trying to get that first win on the board.
“For me, I wouldn’t say it’s a six-pointer straight away but it’s a hugely important game. If they get nothing down there, all of a sudden they could find themselves in the bottom-three things if results don’t go their way. It becomes more difficult then because each game becomes more highly pressured.
“It’s a huge game at St Mary’s – it’s a tough place to go. But they have the opportunity to go there and get a result.”
West Brom’s defence has leaked 11 goals in their opening three Premier League matches and are now set to be tasked with keeping one of the league’s most prolific strikers quiet in Danny Ings.
The 28-year-old England international has scored two goals in each of his two appearances against the Baggies but has never been on the winning side.
We’ll see whether that stat holds up after this weekend as Albion have lost all of their last four matches against the Saints.
In other West Brom news, this Baggies transfer target is set to sign a new contract at his club.
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