West Bromwich Albion skipper Jake Livermore has admitted there is 'nothing like' winning the bragging rights from Birmingham City ahead of this weekend's derby match. 

The Baggies travel to St. Andrew's for a 3pm kick off on Saturday afternoon, with Steve Bruce's side still in with an outside chance of making the play-offs.

Livermore says that whilst West Brom respect every side, there is just something a bit more special about a derby.

“Of course, it’s massive for the fans as we know, but equally in our dressing room it’s a massive game for us too." he told West Brom club media.

“We give every team the utmost respect, but there’s just something about a derby day where, whether it’s the lift from the crowd, the expectation or the atmosphere, whatever it may be, derby days are always that much more special.

“When the atmosphere’s like it is at The Hawthorns when it’s rocking it’s unbelievable.

"There’s nothing like winning the bragging rights from Birmingham."

The Baggies come into the tie having steadied the ship under Steve Bruce in recent weeks, picking up two wins and two draws in their last four.

Livermore urged his teammates to keep that run going ahead of the season run-in.

“I think the international break provided a good chance for the manager and his staff to really home in on certain principles, and it turned out to be a great week for us." Livermore explained.

“But we need to come out of the blocks from this international break and have a real positive end to the season now.

“We’ve gone four games unbeaten and we must keep that run going, and there’s no better way to do it than in a derby."

West Brom are currently sitting 12th after poor form under Steve Bruce looked to have de-railed their play-off ambitions.

 

 

However, after turning things around in recent weeks, the Baggies are now only seven points outside of the top six, with eight games to play.

Livermore admits this is a big gap to make up at this stage of the season, but insists it has been done before.

“There’s no hiding, we’re playing some catch-up we’d rather not be playing, but we are where we are now and as I’ve just touched on, we’ve had a week to home in on a few principles and how we want to play and hopefully we can carry those lessons into the remainder of this season." he explained.

“A few years ago we had Brentford, who hit a crazy run of form, so it can be done.

We’ll take it game by game as it is and Birmingham’s first.

“It would be perfect to get the result, and also what’s important is the performance and hopefully that will give us the confidence to propel us to where we need to be.”

The Verdict

There is plenty to digest from Jake Livermore here ahead of West Brom's derby matchup with Birmingham City on Saturday.

It's clear that Livermore is one who gets up for Derby matches, with his words unable to hide his sheer excitement for the fixture.

It's clear that the midfielder is still harvesting hopes of an unlikely play-off bid towards the end of the season, too.

West Brom are certainly outsiders given their deficit at this stage, but never say never in the Sky Bet Championship.