No time for West Brom's Slaven Bilic to dwell on sentiment
Slaven Bilic is synonymous with West Ham United.
The Albion boss became a Hammers icon for his towering displays at centre-half during the mid-1990s.
He then returned as manager in 2015 and went on to secure seventh and 11th-placed finishes in the Premier League.
A return to the club that gave him his chance to both play and manage in England is sure to be emotional for the 51-year-old – especially as the Hammers sacked him just over two years ago.
Bilic, though, knows he has too much on his plate with Albion to be reminiscing about the past.
Without a win in their last six league games, the Baggies may still be top of the Championship – but getting back to winning ways and securing promotion to the Premier League is the only aim for the head coach this season.
And that means tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth round tie is one that, in truth, the Baggies could do without.
Bilic, though, has some big decisions to make – especially with his side returning to Championship action at Cardiff on Tuesday.
On the one hand, a win at Premier League West Ham would give the squad a timely confidence boost.
But Bilic has said before he is concerned Albion’s hectic schedule is leading to fatigue which, in turn, leads to injury.
Against Charlton in the third round, the boss opted to make 11 changes to his starting line-up – with youngsters such as Dara O’Shea, Jack Fitzwater and Rekeem Harper all given match time.
It is highly likely he will make a raft of changes again, with players such as Jonathan Bond, Chris Brunt, Gareth Barry, Kyle Edwards and Charlie Austin all in need of minutes.
But Bilic also has decisions to make on how he will line up his charges tactically.
Pretty much throughout the entire season, the Baggies have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 system.
But there is a growing sense opposition teams have worked out how to play against them.
While new signings are one way to freshen up the team, a switch in formation could be another – especially as Albion will have to make do without influential duo Matheus Pereira and Grady Diangana for some time.
Pereira will serve the first of a three-game ban tomorrow after the FA decided to suspend him retrospectively for violent conduct following an incident with Stoke’s Joe Allen.
Diangana, meanwhile, will be out for at least a month after suffering a recurrence of his hamstring/back injury.
The Baggies have natural replacements in Filip Krovinovic and Kyle Edwards.
Chris Willock – who is still to make a first-team appearance since joining on loan from Benfica – and Rayhaan Tulloch have also impressed in attacking positions for the under-23s in recent months.
But if Bilic is planning on a formation change in the long term, it is again difficult to predict what he will do at the London Stadium tomorrow.
On the one hand, the game could be used to help his players familiarise themselves with the system.
On the other hand, the head coach may want to keep his cards close to his suggest so that any tactical shift comes as a surprise to Cardiff on Tuesday night.
Either way, the Baggies still need to put in a strong performance with 5,000 Albion fans making the journey to the Captial.
Regulations at the London Stadium mean the Baggies hierarchy had a choice of applying for 5,000 or 9,000 tickets ahead of the game.
The 5,000 sold out quickly.
But if Albion had taken 9,000 and not sold out, the club themselves would have had to foot the bill for any empty seat.
Nevertheless, Albion fans were in fantastic voice when they headed to London for the Cup clash with Charlton.
And it’s sure to be the same tomorrow.
Interestingly, it may be what happens after the game that has the biggest effect on Albion’s season.
Earlier this week, Hammers boss David Moyes says he expects Diangana to remain on loan at The Hawthorns for the rest of the season.
But there has been no official confirmation.
And maybe that is something Moyes and Bilic can sort out once and for all over a glass of wine at full-time.
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