Roberto Di Matteo hailed Albion’s short-lived return back to the top of the Championship down to his very own Italian job. The Baggies have been far more solid defensive than under past regimes conceding only four goals in the last seven games resulting in 14 points.
Albion’s new found defensive qualities have seen the Baggies keep six clean sheets so far this season. However consolation goals in the last few minutes against Leicester City and Bristol City have strived Di Matteo to work even harder on the training field with his defenders.
“Hard work has been the key,” the Italian said regarding the Stripes’ recent defensive mean-streak.
"We've practiced and given it a bit of Italian mentality, which is the perception of not conceding goals and being strong defensively.
"That's why it annoys me when we concede goals - and that's what we're working on.
"It annoyed me a bit when we conceded late on against Bristol.
"It was a great performance but 4-0 looks better than 4-1.
"I'll happily take one goal against if we're 4-0 up but we want to keep clean-sheets because it gives you a platform to win games.
"Our last two goals against have been free-kicks and Saturday's was a great execution by their player."
The Baggies boss admitted to focusing on Albion’s Achilles heel in recent seasons after analysing goals conceded last term and listening to the worries of players and supporters.
“Players don't want to concede easy goals or concede from set-pieces," Di Matteo added.
"I analysed a bit of last year's games.
"And from the feelings among the players, the team and the supporters, you could see and hear what the disappointments were and which area needed work.
"We have been trying to work a lot on certain aspects of our game.
"It's paying dividends a bit but we're still not good enough."