West Bromwich Albion v Huddersfield Town: Alan Pardew expects '˜tight and ferocious affair' with Terriers

WEST BROM manager Alan Pardew does not like the term 'must-win', but he accepts victory against Huddersfield Town today is imperative for his team.
West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew (Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire).West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew (Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire).
West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew (Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire).

The Baggies are bottom of the Premier League table and seven points adrift of Huddersfield in 17th.

Defeat at home to the Terriers would open up a 10-point gap between the clubs and affect confidence at The Hawthorns.

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Pardew, who has won only three of his 17 matches in charge since succeeding Tony Pulis in November, knows he needs to start improving that statistic quickly.

“The term must-win is a bit of an irritant, but we know how important it is,” said Pardew. “Nothing is over until it’s over. The fat lady isn’t in the room yet.

“At the end of the day, we’re paid a lot of money to play professional football and we’re paid to play hard and give a service to our fans.

“We need to deliver this weekend. Whatever way it comes we need a victory.”

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Of West Brom’s 11 remaining fixtures, Huddersfield, Bournemouth, Swansea, Newcastle and Crystal Palace could be classed as relegation rivals.

Given their plight and need for points, Pardew is aware West Brom might encounter problems with how other struggling sides are able to approach games against his team.

“We have to understand that other teams will be happy with draws, and we need to keep pushing,” he said. “I promise our fans we’re not going to settle for a draw anywhere, we’re going to have to push, even against the best teams.

“We’re not going to be able to roll Huddersfield over and win comfortably, it’s going to be a very tight and ferocious affair. It’s every bit as important to them of course. But there is confidence in the group. It wasn’t so long ago that we beat Liverpool at Liverpool, and deserved to win. We’ve got to get back to that.”