Wigan 1, West Brom 0: Chris Lepkowski's big match verdict

Nov 15 2010

ROBERTO Di Matteo perhaps best summed it up last week.

Asked, before the West Ham fixture, about expectations being ramped up ahead of the Upton Park and Wigan fixtures, the Italian made this thoughts clear.

“Yes, of course we’re favourites...because we’ve spent the last few years in the Premier League.”

Sarcastic, definitely.

The pithiness of his answer was the nearest you’ll see to Di Matteo doing an ‘Ian Holloway’ during a press conference.

But it was a response to what he is seeing around him. Whether it’s the media, the 3800 supporters travelling to Wigan for a football match or the Twitterati opinionistas expressing their views in the blossoming medium of social media.

We’ve all come to expect better.

The dynamics of Albion’s season were, in effect, transformed at around 4.24pm on September 25 when Jerome Thomas slammed in the third goal at the Emirates.

That was the moment of definition.

Like it or not, Albion’s campaign was changed from then on.

But Di Matteo makes an interesting observation. This current evolution of players are still what it effectively says on the label.

They are footballers who, in the main, swapped a lower level for a higher one. And off-days need to be taken into account. They will face players of more ability and experience at times this season.

Provided Di Matteo and his players react to those bad days is the key. If they don’t then, only then, will more pertinent questions be asked.