PETER Odemwingie revealed his derby-day hat-trick had helped ease the burden of a poor recent run of form.

The Albion striker netted his first treble for the club – and only the second of his career – to help the rampant Baggies win 5-1 at Molineux.

Odemwingie was criticised for a poor performance against Swansea last week, in which he missed a late chance to equalise in the 2-1 defeat.

But the Nigerian intends making the most of his excellent performance yesterday.

“It’s my first match ball and a day I will remember for the rest of my life,” he said.

“I have scored a hat-trick before, for Lille in a derby against Lens, but they don’t give match balls there.

“It’s a bonus that it was in a local derby.

“It was a big day for me – a lot of relief after what happened (against Swansea).

“But we responded well, and I’m happy to put aside those bad feelings to score. I’m relaxed now and have confidence in myself.

“Game after game pressure has been building up.

“Pressure has been taken off our shoulders. It’s about making sure we play Premier League football next season and then all the negative feelings are taken away from supporters.

“This joy will hopefully compensate for some of the disappointments we’ve had.”

Odemwingie also revealed there was no ill-feeling between himself and Roy Hodgson despite, comments alluding to the Albion manager’s frustrations earlier this season.