Slaven Bilic earned strong plaudits from West Bromwich Albion fans after they successfully toppled managerless Stoke City at the bet365 stadium.
The Baggies returned to the top of the Championship after they beat the Potters 0-2, with goals from Matt Phillips and Hal Robson-Kanu sealing the victory.
After the game, Bilic told BBC Sport that ‘momentum’ was everything for both clubs.
“We started brilliantly and ended quite comfortably, but it was not like that until we scored the second goal.
“You can’t be happy with just controlling the game when you’re only one up. So, in that respect, we’re not happy.
“Momentum is everything in this league. They did not look like a team who should be bottom.”
Fans on Twitter shared their manager’s sentiments and were full of appreciation for the Croatian.
Honestly one of the best managers we’ve ever had
— Adam (@Mitchell45_) November 4, 2019
SLAVAN BILIC, HE HATES THE VILLA, HES FROM CROATIA, HE LOVES THE BAGGIES ???
— SXL3??? (@vSxl3) November 4, 2019
Great to hear a manager attribute his teams performance to away following.. ?
— danpoolie86 (@danpoolie86) November 4, 2019
top man
— matt (@matt_wba) November 4, 2019
They never wanted to see him go lad. We’re lucky to have him.
However. Stoke need Pulis badly. He will stable that ship.— tommy (@tommyposton) November 5, 2019
Best manager we’ve had in a long time
— Jonathan Evans (@The5pecialone31) November 4, 2019
What do we think?
Indeed, the former West Ham United manager looks to have been an inspired appointment at The Hawthorns, as the 51-year-old has managed a record of eight wins, six draws and two defeats in his first 16 games in charge (per TransferMarkt). Bilic’s Baggies are sitting pretty at the top of the Championship once again and it was a vital victory to keep their ‘momentum’ as he put it. They don’t want to be chasing their rivals because that’s where mistakes can be made and instead are setting the bar for others to follow.