‘We can’t be obsessed’ – Bilic sends out message about West Brom PL form
West Brom manager Slaven Bilic claims his side cannot become “obsessed” with negativity and must accept they will lose matches in the Premier League.
The Baggies have failed to win any of their opening eight Premier League matches and sit 18th in the table with just three points.
Their next match on Saturday is at Old Trafford against Manchester United and Bilic insisted that they have the opportunity to win any match.
“We can’t be obsessed with that in a negative way,” he said (via Express and Star).
“It will come, if we tick all the boxes we need to tick, it will come. It’s about us. We were so close to winning one of the toughest games on paper so far – we were very close against Chelsea.
“We aren’t going to win as many games as we did last season. Nobody expects us to do that. But in every game there is an opportunity for us to win it. In every game there is an opportunity. And what we can’t do is be desperate in a negative way, in a way that makes us lose confidence and belief. We can’t be like ‘oh my god we are not winning’. If we don’t win let’s draw and perform and win next time. That is how you stay in this league.”
Bilic is right to claim that the Baggies have been unlucky in some games this season, with Tottenham Hotspur only sealing a 1-0 win in the 88th minute in their most recent match.
However, a close look at some of the advanced metrics suggests that they have been the worst side in the league so far this season. The Baggies rank 20th in terms of expected goals generated, with 4.7 xG from eight matches, while only Leeds United have a worse xG against (via FBRef).
In terms of xG difference per 90 minutes, they sit bottom of the league with -1.15 a game from their opening eight fixtures. The second-worst in the division by that metric are Sheffield United, with -0.66 xGDiff/90.
With Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana and Karlan Grant not yet finding their best form, West Brom can definitely improve going forward and they remain just one point adrift of safety. However, the do need to get better and start winning soon.
In other West Brom news, this Albion player was torn to shreds for his international performance last week.
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