Defensive rock Jonas Olsson claims he’s handling the pressure at promotion chasing Albion – despite his outburst with visiting fans at Coventry on Saturday. After relegation from the Premier League last season the Baggies are one of the most awaited fixtures for opposing teams this term.
After Albion’s disappointing draw against Coventry on Saturday Olsson revealed the downbeat atmosphere in the visiting dressing room at full-time as the Baggies slipped from 1st to 3rd in the Championship after failing to beat their Midlands rivals.
“We put pressure on ourselves,” the Swede admitted.
"We know there will be high expectations of us and we expect a lot from ourselves.
"And I like the pressure.
"It's a new situation from last season.
"But being a team that has just come down and keeping most of the squad, we expect ourselves to be up there.
"The players and the coaching staff are focused every day in training on making this a good season and getting back on track.
"For me, the pressure is something good and if you have that mentality, as professionals should have, then the pressure makes you train harder and want to win more games.
"For me, the pressure is something positive."
Despite his claims Olsson played down his spat with a section of Albion fans on Saturday as he went to thank the travelling hoards for their support at Coventry.
"It was nothing, really," he continued.
"I went over to applaud all the fans because a few thousand travelled and I wanted to show my appreciation for their support.
"There are always a few who say things and it's understandable that there was disappointment because we, the players, were not happy.
"There was a bit of emotion from me after the game because I was as disappointed as the fans were after losing two points.
"In fact, there was no-one more disappointed than the 11 guys sitting in the dressing room.
"When I go over and applaud the fans, they don't have to applaud back but they also don't have to make bad gestures, so I applauded 99.9 per cent of them.
"I am very emotional after a game and it wasn't a big thing for me and I hope it wasn't a big thing for the supporters in question."
"I applauded the fans because they did a good job in supporting us.
"One or two didn't appreciate it, but there are no hard feelings.
"It was just a moment after the game."