ROBERTO Di Matteo has labelled tonight's home clash with lowly Sheffield Wednesday as a 'must win' game.
The Baggies boss is looking for a positive reaction from his team following Saturday's disappointing 3-1 defeat at QPR, knowing victory will lift his men back above Nottingham Forest into second place by two points in the race for automatic promotion.
And he has urged the fans to recreate the atmosphere that helped spur his men to a 3-1 victory over Derby last time out at The Hawthorns against a 22nd-placed Owls outfit sitting in the relegation zone on goal difference.
"We were very disappointed with our last game and we know it is a must-win game for us tonight," said Di Matteo.
"But first of all we need to make sure that we work hard and we match every team for all the basics.
"That means the fighting, the tackling and all that stuff, and hopefully in the long-term our quality will shine.
"Most teams that come here, we know what they do.
"They will be parking ten players behind the ball and trying to be dangerous on the break and from set-pieces.
"Sometimes you have to be patient but you also have to start sharply, start with a degree of tempo, be positive and play your game.
"We have to be strong mentally and physically to get through the last 12 games.
"We have had some ups and I have to say our supporters in our last home game against Derby were magnificent.
"It was one of the best performances by the supporters and I think that helped the team a lot."
Wednesday, who ended a run of three defeats with a 2-0 victory over Leicester on Saturday, have won only three of their 16 league games on the road this term.
The Baggies thrashed them 4-0 at Hillsborough in November and Di Matteo is confident his men have the firepower to complete the double over them provided they do not concede any soft goals.
"We haven't had much time to work in training in the last six or seven weeks," he added.
"We haven't had much time to work on defending, shape, and work like that.
"And we've had a few changes in personnel.
"But also we need to pay more attention - and that's what I've said to the team.
"We need to pay more attention defensively and make sure that we don't give away soft goals because it's hard to get back into the game after that."
Di Matteo is sweating on the fitness of Simon Cox (back), while fellow striker Roman Bednar (groin) has been ruled out of tonight's game.
And that could pave the way for Ishmael Miller, who returned from a month-long ankle injury as a 64th-minute substitute at Loftus Road on Saturday, to make his first start in 15 months in attack.
"I've been thinking about Ishmael," the head coach said.
"He hasn't got 90 minutes in his legs yet, I know that.
"So we will have to see.
"But I do think he has the attributes to play the lone striker role.
"I've been pleased with him but he's had a difficult time with his knee.
"He got back in the team and was trying to find his form, then he had a knock-back.
"You add that to the previous injury and you have to pull up your sleeves and start again.
"It's been a frustrating time for him."
