West Brom boss Roy Hodgson admits it will be 'very tough' for his side to keep their momentum going in their next three games.
West Brom boss admits Baggies may struggle
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson admits it will be 'very tough' for his side to keep their momentum going in their next three games.
The Baggies are preparing to host fifth-placed Chelsea on Saturday before away games at title chasing Manchester United and relegation battlers Wigan.
Despite the daunting nature of their upcoming fixtures Albion will go into those games high on confidence after successive wins over Wolves and Sunderland that yielded nine goals with just one conceded.
Those victories lifted the Baggies into the relative safety of 13th place, 11 points clear of the drop zone.
Hodgson expressed his relief at his side's two recent victories as it gave them vital breathing space in the relegation dogfight going into a tricky spell of fixtures for the Hawthorns outfit.
"We're now going into a period of very, very tough games," Hodgson told the club's
official website.
Nasty
"Had we not taken points in these last two games we could be looking at a very nasty situation because there is no doubt that getting points from the next three games will be very tough.
"We will need to be at our best and hope we get some luck if we are going to get points in those games, so it's nice to have a margin where we are not worried about being sat on 25 or 26 points and facing three games which could have dragged us down."
Hodgson has also been boosted by the news that Chris Brunt and Paul Scharner have returned to training, but the pair may not be risked against Chelsea on Saturday.
Brunt has been sidelined since fracturing his ankle against Everton on New Year's Day while a rib injury forced Scharner to miss the 4-0 win over Sunderland last weekend.
The pair have both returned to training but Hodgson, who also revealed that Jerome Thomas is a doubt with a hamstring injury, is unsure whether to throw them straight back into competitive action at the weekend.
"It's too early to tell whether Chris will be ready," added Hodgson. "We haven't had a chance to work with any great intensity - we will wait to see what happens on Thursday and Friday, but certainly he's technically fit.
Stamina
"It's down to match fitness - will he have the energy and stamina to go into a game of this level?
"Scharner is recovering well. He trained with us yesterday.
"We are still being careful with contact but the doctor thinks he's making good progress. We will see how it pans out.
"Jerome Thomas has a slight hamstring injury but nothing too serious. Again, he's making a good recovery and we will see how things are when the other lads have returned from international duty."
