Olsson: Break came at right time for Baggies
Jonas Olsson believes West Brom's break at the weekend was timely as they look to adapt to the methods of new head coach Pepe Mel.
With Sunderland in action in the League Cup final on Sunday, West Brom were afforded a free weekend and defender Olsson feels it came at an opportune moment as the Hawthorns outfit continue their fight to stave off the threat of relegation.
Mel's side are fourth from bottom in the Premier League, a point outside the drop zone, and, with Manchester United visiting the Midlands on Saturday, West Brom go into the game on the back of an eight-match winless run in all competitions.
"Training has been good," he told reporters. "With the gaffer and the coaching staff, we've had time to work on the things we need to do better.
"In that respect, the postponed game with Sunderland came at a good time."
With the fight to avoid relegation looking likely to go down to the wire, the Swede thinks West Brom's experience could prove key.
"It's going to count for a lot," he said.
"What we have in this squad is a lot of Premier League experience, and a lot of experience of being in a situation like this.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"But there are a lot of teams down there with us also having tough seasons. For example, it is only recently that West Ham have started to pick up.
"I think the recent performances have been good for the most part but they haven't been good enough to see us getting three points.
"We need to perform over 90 minutes. There are a lot of games where we have played well for one half or for 60 minutes but have switched off a little bit in other spells and got punished.
"In the Premier League, you can't do that."
'Will Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar extend their contracts in Saudi Arabia? We play a facilitating job, but it’s down to the players and the clubs to decide' Saudi Pro League chief reveals how talks will work for out-of-contract duo
Nations League: Who are the ITV commentators and pundits for England vs Republic of Ireland?