ROBERTO Di Matteo says Filipe Teixeira reaped the rewards for his hard work behind the scenes in Saturday's 5-0 win over Watford.

The Portuguese ace was handed his first Coca-Cola Championship start under the current coaching regime - and his first league start in 19 months.

And the fans' favourite impressed Di Matteo with a dazzling 90-minute display on the right wing.

"He has been knocking on the door but he has also been an excellent professional when he wasn't involved," said the Baggies head coach.

"He has trained really well and he has been getting some minutes lately.

"On Saturday we felt he could give us some joy on the right side.

"He is obviously very popular with the fans but we are just looking to get the right balance in the team and the best players to win us the game."