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Championship | Gameweek 37
Mar 7, 2020 at 3pm UK
 
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Slaven Bilic not worried by West Brom losing top spot

Slaven Bilic not worried by West Brom losing top spot
© Reuters
Swansea dropped a place in the league but narrowed the gap on the top six to three points.

West Brom manager Slaven Bilic urged his players not to panic after being knocked off the top of the Championship.

Leeds reclaimed first place after more than a month of chasing the Baggies down as Swansea held them to a 0-0 draw.

The high-fliers dominated possession in the first-half but failed to find the breakthrough before being put on the back foot for most of the second period.

But Bilic called for calm with his side still six points clear of the play-off places.

"It's good to get the clean sheet with a solid performance and to more or less control the game," he said. "But we know have to be better in terms of quality in the final third. That's what was missing today.

"That echelon behind Hal Robson-Kanu were not like they usually are. We had 10 shots which is not a lot for us considering the amount of possession we had.

"The results apart from Leeds and Brentford were OK, the results around you affects the valuation of the point.

"I would love to be in top spot, but it doesn't worry me. We have one less game to go, the gap is very balanced, it is significant, it is big enough not to panic.

"It also keeps you on your toes and keeps you focused knowing you could lose it in a split second and find yourself in a situation where it is smaller."

Callum Robinson pounced on a mistake from Matt Grimes to force Freddie Woodman into a save with what turned out to be the Baggies' only shot on target.

Jay Fulton had two clear cut chances to put the hosts ahead, first firing over after following up Grimes' saved shot, before blazing over from his captain's cut-back.

Swansea dropped a place in the league but narrowed the gap on the top six to three points, and head coach Steve Cooper is confident they can push on towards the play-offs.

He said: "We are down a place in the league and a point closer to the play-offs – that sums up the Championship, doesn't it?

"It's nine games to go, three points away from getting over the dotted line.

"There are worse places to be. I think about some of the teams who are below us who would do anything to be in the position we are in.

"We are only thinking really positively and we are going for this. We are really going to back ourselves.

"On another day we could have got more from the game.

"We are never going to be 100 per cent happy to draw at home, because you want to back yourself to win any game at home, but we have to respect the game it was and the opposition.

"They are top of the league, they are the league's top scorers, they have a ridiculously strong squad."

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd22155232112148
2Leeds UnitedLeeds22136341152645
3Burnley2212822891944
4Sunderland22127334181643
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2111462518737
6Middlesbrough22105738281035
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom22811326161035
8Watford2110473028234
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds229582830-232
10Millwall217772118328
11Swansea CitySwansea227692424027
12Bristol City226972628-227
13Norwich CityNorwich226883734326
14Queens Park RangersQPR2251072328-525
15Luton TownLuton2274112538-1325
16Derby CountyDerby2266102728-124
17Coventry CityCoventry2266102834-624
18Preston North EndPreston2241172229-723
19Stoke CityStoke2257102330-722
20Portsmouth204882535-1020
21Hull City2247112131-1019
22Cardiff CityCardiff2146111934-1518
23Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2146112137-1618
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2146112245-2318


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