Kieran Gibbs is delighted with his return to Albion action after netting the opener in a breathtaking 4-1 victory over Bristol City.
The Baggies turned on the style at The Hawthorns with Matheus Pereira, Hal Robson-Kanu and Charlie Austin following up the left-back’s 10th-minute strike to reclaim top spot in the Sky Bet Championship.
And Gibbs admits to feeling fortunate at claiming a spot in Slaven Bilić’s starting XI following Saturday’s 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
“It was a long time waiting for me actually,” said the 30-year-old former Arsenal man. “I didn’t realise I had been out for so long.
“It is always nice to be back out on the field with the boys. To be honest, it’s tough to get in this team at the moment because everyone that has performed so far this season has really done themselves justice. I have to take every opportunity that I get because that is how it is with this team at the moment. With the quality and the hunger that the manager has got around the dressing room, I feel lucky to have even got a game tonight.
“I think it was a really strong start and if we start well teams tend to drop off against us because we have got so many powerhouses up the top of the field. When you have the clever little players like Matheus and Grady it is hard to get close to them. I think having a good start gave us the platform for a really strong performance. I think we need to tighten up the beginning of our second halves, but apart from that it is difficult for me to point out any faults in the boys today because everyone was outstanding.
On his goal, Gibbs added: “It was one of them where everyone can kind of see it but when you are the actual player who doesn’t know what is behind him, it is not as easy as it looks - but Grady made it look so easy. I just gambled that he would do it because I know the type of player that he is. It was a perfect little slide. What a great little player.
“Matheus is one of the players who makes the game look so easy. Football is not easy. He has a unique way of just gliding across the pitch and he is so low to the ground. He is literally your worst nightmare to play against. If you like football, you like Matheus, it is as simple as that.
“Confidence is high but we had this last season where we were up there quite a lot for the majority of the season and I think we have got a lot of players from last season who went through a lot of ups and downs and I think everyone is confident but mature enough to know there is such a long way to go. That’s the most important thing.
“At the moment everyone is just enjoying the football. The manager has got that way of making you want to play for him and he has a team of hungry boys at the moment. We can’t complain.”