‘My message to the players’ – Bilic reveals key takeaway following defeat v Spurs
Slaven Bilic believes that the performance level shown by his West Brom side against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday has to represent the minimum standard moving forward.
The Baggies lost 1-0 thanks to a late Harry Kane goal, but delivered a much improved display.
Speaking after the match, Bilic said that the team could take confidence from the performance, if not the result.
“My message to the players was that this has to be our standard now,” he said (via Reuters).
“We have to perform like this in every minute of every game as a minimum. It’s really difficult to take confidence from a defeat because the best way to get confidence is to win games and climb up the league. But you can also get confidence from performances and today was an example of that.”
The Baggies were poor against Fulham last Monday, but they definitely delivered a response at The Hawthorns against Spurs. However, with the away side possessing plenty of quality in the attacking third, they fell just short.
On Sunday, the Baggies managed 12 shots and were able to keep Spurs to just five shots on target at the other end (via FBRef). With six tackles, two clearances and 69 yards in progressive distance, Semi Ajayi impressed at the back (via FBRef), while the new 5-3-2 formation made Bilic’s side far more secure.
The exclusion of Grady Diangana raised a few eyebrows, but the Baggies did not appear to lose too much in the way of creativity.
Against fellow strugglers Fulham, West Brom generated 0.5 expected goals and took 10 shots, while they generated 0.8 xG and 12 shots against Spurs (via FBRef).
The performance of Filip Krovinovic was a key part of this improvement, with the Croatian completing six shot creating actions and progressing the ball 124 yards during the match with the ball at his feet (via FBRef).
In other West Brom news, ‘A steal for us’ – Baggies star raves over signing who ‘will become a top player’