West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic suggested that he wanted to give some of the Baggies’ key players a rest and allow other players some game time, following his side’s 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic on Wednesday.

Bilic made four changes from the side that secured a sixth successive Championship win against Swansea City last weekend, with Charlie Austin, Filip Krovinovic, Kyle Edwards and Conor Townsend all coming into the starting line-up against Wigan.

The changes though appeared to affect West Brom’s fluency going forwards, and without the creativity of Matt Phillips, Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira, the Baggies managed just six attempts against Wigan, although they did at least come from behind to earn a point through Austin to stretch their unbeaten league run to eleven games.

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Speaking to the media after the Baggies’ draw with Wigan, Bilic defended his decision to make changes to his side in attack, suggesting some of their key players were looking low on energy heading into the game, saying: "It’s not like the players who came in weren’t good and the others were good.

"It was my decision. We have three games in six days, we have to manage the team. So of the guys felt really tight and tired.

"Our aim was to put in players who are match fit. They are all playing, they are all getting minutes.

"I count them as regulars. They are 15 players who are basically are playing so nobody knows how they would be. But personally I don’t think that is the reason, or it shouldn’t have been a reason."

The Verdict

Bilic will have been aware that making so many changes in attack was likely to affect his side’s ability to play with their usual fluency, but he will be enthused that the Baggies still managed to pick up another point and continue their unbeaten run, despite not being anywhere near their best.

The festive period is always a challenging one for managers and Bilic would have been wanting to make sure that West Brom’s key attacking players are kept fresh heading into the new year, and given the amount of games that come along in quick succession he felt he needed to give some of his players a rest.

That provided a chance for the likes of Krovinovic, Edwards and Austin to come in and make their case for a regular starting place, but they would not have done much to convince Bilic they should keep their places, after not producing the same levels of attacking quality that have been on show for the last few months.