Tony Mowbray has challenged Albion to find "consistency" in both their performances and their results as they head into the final 15 games of the Sky Bet Championship campaign.
The Baggies are one of several second-tier teams vying for a spot in the play-offs at the end of the term and take on Blackburn Rovers, another side with top-six aspirations, at The Hawthorns on Wednesday night (ko 8pm).
Mowbray’s men secured a dramatic, last-gasp triumph over Sheffield Wednesday in front of their own supporters on Saturday lunchtime, meaning they’ve got an opportunity to record back-to-back victories for the first time since September when the Lancashire outfit come down to the West Midlands in midweek.
The boss insists finding a consistent level of performance will aid the chances of achieving positive results on a regular basis.
"We have to find consistency and find the right performance levels. I thought the performance of the team on Saturday was good in the first half. If we can find the same kind of standards, we’ll give any team in this league a good game.
"We’ve had some frustrations since I’ve been here, such as the Plymouth game. We’re trying to find the consistency of how we play, how we attack and how we defend.
"That’s so important, especially in this league where two or three wins in-a-row can work wonders. I’ve been relaying similar messages to the players.
"We want to dominate games and make the opposition feel like they’re inferior and hanging on and hoping for a set-piece or a poor decision from the ref to give them a chance of getting something from the game.
"It’s been a bit of a balancing act since I joined in terms of not trying to disturb too much of the good stuff that’s gone on over the last few years, but also trying to get the team to be more aggressive, play on the front foot a bit more, play forward more and attempt to win the ball back higher up the pitch rather than getting back into shape as quickly as possible.
"I thought we did that very, very well at the weekend against Sheffield Wednesday. It’s a balancing act, but the longer we spend together and the longer we spend on the training pitches, the clearer the identity will hopefully become."
Mowbray’s five-year spell at Blackburn Rovers between February 2017 and May 2022 is the longest he’s had at any club during his managerial career.
He guided Rovers back to the Championship in 2018 and then achieved two top-half finishes and two mid-table finishes in the second tier before departing at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
The boss says he has “great memories” from his time there, but says his full focus is on making sure Albion collect all three points from the midweek encounter.
Mowbray added: “I’ve got some great memories from my time at Blackburn Rovers. I had some very good players there and I had some very good days.
"They are in and around the play-off positions and have been for most of the season. They have ambitions to get back to the Premier League.
"I spent five very happy years there and I tried to help build the club.
"I had happy times, but I want us to be the team picking up three points on Wednesday. We have our aims and our targets and three points would push us closer to those targets. Nobody should think that it’s a home game and it’s Blackburn Rovers so it should just be three points. They are a really tough team, but, it’s another opportunity for us to get another three points.
"They’ve got determined and well-balanced players who will come to The Hawthorns and give it a real go.
"It’s a tough game for us because they’re dogged and resilient and tough to break through. I’ve seen them live twice this season, both times up at Middlesbrough which is close to where I live. They won both games 1-0, one in the league and one in the FA Cup.
"We have to be at our best in the attacking third to give them problems. They defend their box well and they counter well too with the likes of Tyrhys Dolan and Ryan Hedges, who are sharp and quick.
"It’s a dangerous game for us. They’ll try and frustrate, but they’ve got quality on the counter. We’re at home, so we’re going to try and force the game. They’re in and around the play-off places and we’re going to approach the game knowing we’re up against a side who have the capability to be in the play-offs at the end of the season."
