John Swift says his confidence is only growing after netting another important goal for Albion on the road against Millwall on Friday afternoon.
The midfielder stepped off the bench in the 63rd minute and was quickly given the responsibility of putting a pressure penalty away following good work from Grady Diangana to win the spot-kick.
But Swift stayed calm from 12 yards to convert and earn the Baggies a point in the capital, and the 28-year-old insists it’s vital his team-mates utilise their share of the spoils when they host Watford on Easter Monday.
“I was quite confident when the penalty was given”, said Swift.
“My legs were fresh. It was sort of the best way to take a penalty, coming straight off the bench because you are fresh and in your mind, there’s only one thing to do which is put it in the back of the net.
“Credit to Grady who did brilliantly to win us the penalty. He’s come inside and chopped the defender. Grady did the hard work and then it was up to me to stick it in.
“It might look like I’m confident on the outside, but it’s always nerve-wracking taking a penalty, no matter how many times you have practiced.
“In games like today, if you put it in the back of the net, your confidence will only grow. I’m taking it in my stride, being on penalties.
“There are so many players who are good at pens. If there’s a game that comes along where I’m not on the pitch and we get a penalty, hopefully the likes of Jed, Mowwy or Brandon could step up and stick it in.
“At the moment, the penalties are falling to me so I’m grateful.
“I think it’s a positive point. It’s a performance that we’ll look at and analyse and try and improve on, but The Den is always a difficult place to come. The way they play and the way the fans are, it’s always going to be a scrappy game.
“For us, we’ll take the point and hopefully on Monday we can get a win against Watford and collect four points from the weekend.
“It could be a massive point.
“Our form away from home was something we looked at at the start of the season and we spoke about wanting to put it right. We’re doing that now when you look at today’s result and going to places like Ipswich and taking a point there too.
“As I say, it wasn’t the best performance, but that’s what the teams at the top do. They come to places like this, get one chance, take it and then leave with a point.
“We have a chance on Monday to back this point up with a good result against Watford.”
