West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic has revealed his admiration of Brentford, as the Baggies boss looks ahead to their trip to Griffin Park on Friday night.
Bilic's side resumed their Championship title push with a goalless draw at home to rivals Birmingham City yesterday. The point was enough for West Brom to surpass Leeds into the top-spot, but it marked the Baggies' third-straight league fixture without scoring.
Speaking to www.wba.co.uk after the game, Bilic rued his side's missed chances:
“Of course the guys are all gutted we did not win the game. I think we deserved to win the game. We were always at them, always being creative, we were always on the front foot.
“But the one area where we lacked a quality of sharpness was in front of goal. We had 23 shots and put in more than 30 crosses - and they were good crosses. That is more than enough opportunity to score goals."
West Brom dominated the stats yesterday, and it made for painful watching for many fans. Now with eight games standing between them and promotion to the Premier League, Bilic has his sights set on Friday's trip to Griffin Park.
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The Croat however has spoke of his admiration for promotion contenders Brentford, saying:
“Since the end of last year I have always thought Brentford were a team that could go on a run and be a danger to everyone.
“They give nothing away at the back and they have dangerous offensive players. It will be a tough game for us - but I am confident it will be a tough game for them as well.”
Brentford were gaining momentum after New Year, and resumed their season with an impressive 2-0 win at Craven Cottage yesterday lunchtime.
The win took them to within a point of Fulham, and eight behind both West Brom and Leeds.
The verdict
Brentford play some of the best football in the league, and they've some of the best players too. But West Brom have been the team to beat throughout the campaign, and Bilic for all his admiration of Thomas Frank's side, won't be discounting his own team's abilities as he looks for promotion in his maiden season at the club.