survival shot Tough love needed for West Brom to start quest for survival

West Brom midfielder Romaine Sawyers has urged the Baggies not to waste their survival shot after derby delight at Wolves.

Matheus Pereira scored two penalties either side of Semi Ajayi’s header to claim a vital 3-2 victory at Molineux on Saturday.

Fabio Silva and Willy Boly had put Wolves 2-1 up at the break before Albion hit back immediately after the restart to lead again within nine minutes.

Brighton’s 1-0 win at Leeds meant the Baggies are five points from the safety line after just their second Premier League win of the season.

They go to West Ham on Tuesday and Sawyers has called on the side to back up their latest win.

He told the club’s official site: “If there’s one game to change our season, this is the game.

“It’s the one the fans look forward to the most at the start of the season. To come here and get a victory, it was massive.

“The upset in the FA Cup (losing at Blackpool) woke us up a little bit and I think that helped at Wolves.

“We had seven days to work with the gaffer on the training ground and the solid structure of the team showed.

“He’s tough on us at times, but it’s not a happy situation we are in at the minute so we need that tough love.

“I think everyone could see the grit and determination on display at Molineux.

“We all sensed a comeback at the break. I think we were unfortunate to be behind at the break. We started the game well but made two poor errors from set-pieces.

“We need to keep building now, game-by-game.”

It was a sixth defeat in nine games for Wolves, who remain 14th and 10 points above the bottom three.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo is now facing scrutiny for the first time since joining Wolves in 2017 after winning promotion and securing successive seventh place finishes.

He said: “We had good chances that require better finishes but it was very hard to go against who defends well, aggressive, compact, a lot of men behind the ball, but we did some situations, that require better finishing.

“We are all disappointed. We are aware that it’s not a good moment for us, it’s a bad moment, and a lot of things are going wrong. We have to react to it and work very hard for the next one.

“We think that (a back four) is better for us when you consider the players we have, we feel the formation suits us better, but it’s time to analyse and see the next steps forward.

“It’s the moment to analyse the squad and prepare the next one. The solution is here with us, we must find better solutions and better players.”

Press Association