West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic insists his side have taken a step in the right direction as they look for their first league victory of the season at Brighton and Hove Albion tonight, according to the Express & Star.
The Baggies are still in search of their first three points since securing promotion back to the English top flight.
They are winless from their opening five matches, losing their first two games before earning their first point of the campaign against Chelsea.
However, even that was fraught as West Brom took a three-goal lead into half-time against the Blues only for Tammy Abraham’s injury-time equaliser to complete a second-half turnaround for the Londoners.
The club then lost their following match against Southampton before drawing with Burnley.
‘Lot of positives’
Bilic maintained he was disappointed with the result against the Clarets but saw reasons to be optimistic.
“All I can ask from the guys is to improve on Burnley – Burnley has to become our minimum standard.
“Then, with a little bit of luck, with better finishing and with a little bit of magic and bravery, we will get that win sooner rather than later.
“Against Burnley we weren’t happy with the result. But we found a lot of positives we can build on.
“The next game we are expecting to build more confidence, more patterns and more good vibes.’
‘We are growing’
Bilic’s side sit 17th on two points and can leapfrog Brighton with a victory over the Seagulls tonight.
The Croat was adamant his side are gradually improving, despite their lack of points. He highlighted the importance of his side’s experienced players in their showing against Burnley and spoke of their significance on their survival aspirations.
“Points-wise, overall, I am not happy. Performance-wise, though, we are growing. To compete at this level you need experience, you need quality, you need organisation.
“We got that from some of the players who came in against Burnley.
“And we will get it from some of the players that were already here through the learning process.”
‘Good opportunity’
Brighton have earned four points from their first five fixtures. They have also played the likes of Chelsea and Everton, as well as Newcastle, Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
Bilic said he was cautious about the Seagulls game but it was a chance to get further points on the board.
“They are a very good side. We will have to be on the top of our game, very resilient, very solid and very good with and without the ball. But this is a very good opportunity for us to get something.”
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