John Swift says Tuesday’s Sky Bet Championship clash with Wigan Athletic at The Hawthorns is “massive” as Albion look to apply pressure on the top six.
The Baggies’ encounter with the Latics is their game in hand over the sides directly above them in the division, with Carlos Corberán’s men sat seven points adrift of the play-off positions ahead of kick-off.
Albion know a ninth win in 10 in all competitions in B71 will lift them to ninth in the table and four points off sixth-placed Norwich City, and Swift insists it’s an opportunity they simply must take.
He said: “It’s a massive game on Tuesday night.
“We were really disappointed with the result in the last game at Hull. I thought we played really well and we should have scored at least two or three goals in the first half alone.
“It was massively disappointing coming away with nothing having performed so well against Middlesbrough the week before.
“We were probably better on the ball against Hull than we were against Middlesbrough, but we got nothing from Friday night.
“Our game with Wigan is a massive opportunity to put Friday right, try and get three points and deliver a positive performance.
“The gap is something which everyone looks at.
“After every game you look at the table and the gap to the top six and think about what the target is and how many points you need to make up or how many points ahead of certain teams you are.
“It’s massive for us, especially with the game being at home and the form we’re in at The Hawthorns. It’s a chance for us to close the gap on the top six and put the pressure on.
“It’s a strange one for us because we feel just as confident playing away from home as we do playing at The Hawthorns.
“We’re getting plenty of positive results at home but performances and results have been different away from home.
“Obviously it’s tougher going away from home, but you would expect after putting in performance after performance at home and getting regular wins, that that might lead on to victories away from home.
“That hasn’t happened at the moment but the performances at The Hawthorns have certainly been a big positive for us.
“Hopefully we can keep that going and get another win on Tuesday night.”
