Holloway impressed by Di Matteo’s troops
The Baggies make the trip north knowing a win would take them above Manchester City and into fourth place in the Barclays Premier League.
Di Matteo’s side have enjoyed an impressive return to the top flight so far, winning at Arsenal and coming from two goals down to draw at Manchester United, and Holloway feels the Italian should take a lot of the credit.
“I think he (Di Matteo) and (assistant) Eddie (Newton) are fantastic. They look like you want to play for them yourself,” said Holloway.
“They’ve just taken (the Premier League) by storm, passing the ball, moving it. They’ve very solid as well at the back and have some very exciting forward options.
“He’s (Di Matteo) got a very calm way about him and I think he’s going to do very well.
“They’ve got great balance, great blend, great choices and they’re a very formidable unit.”
The Seasiders started their maiden Premier League campaign impressively themselves, but have since suffered back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Birmingham, and Holloway wants his side to take advantage of two home games in a row – they host Everton next Saturday – to get their fourth victory of the campaign.
“If we get it now, it’ll be very good,” said the 47-year-old, who gave his players a few days off last week to “top up the enthusiasm”.
“That would be 13 points and that’ll put us two points behind West Brom, who are currently sixth. That would definitely shock a few people. They’d probably think the table was upside down.”
Di Matteo, however, is not going to get carried away at this early stage and is not looking too closely at the league table.
“It’s nine games and there’s 29 games left,” he cautioned. “By the end of December you’ll have a better idea of how the Barclays Premier League is going to shape up.”
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