Albion head coach prepared for visit of Hammers
ALAN Irvine hopes his meticulous pre-match preparations will be rewarded when Albion take on West Ham United in tomorrow night's 'huge' Hawthorns fixture.
The Baggies head coach revealed that he was already planning for the visit of Sam Allardyce's men late last week.
Irvine is fully aware of the importance of tomorrow's fixture - Albion have lost their last three games.
They take on a Hammers side who lie fifth in the Barclays Premier League table.
"Tuesday night is a huge game for us, there's not doubt about that," said Irvine.
"It's a big game for us but also a tough game.
"West Ham have had a good season so far so it will be tough.
"From my point the work for this game started last week. I started planning for this game on Friday.
"The players weren't involved with that but it was already in my mind. For me work started late in the week."
Irvine continued: "We will assess the players, see what knocks we've got and get a plan ready for when the players come in today so we are ready for the game."