"To be taken to by the fans so quickly was very special"
HAL Robson-Kanu is loving the connection he has made with Baggies fans in his first season.
The Welsh international has become a folk idol after carrying on his happy knack for memorable and crucial goals for country with his new club.
Hal came to the Baggies in the last hours of the August transfer window last summer as a serious contender for Euro 2016’s goal of the tournament after his stunning swivel and strike for Wales against Belgium.
And on his first start for Albion at Southampton on the last day of December, Robson-Kanu hammered another beauty to clinch victory and add to his assist in the build-up to Albion’s equaliser earlier in the game.
The “We’ve got Kanu” song was born and Albion fans, appreciative of the striker’s uncomplaining attitude when left out and total commitment on the pitch, relish repeating it.
“It’s a special feeling,” he says.
“I had been at my previous club 12 years, which is a long time. To come into a new environment and be taken to by the fans so quickly was very special.
“My focus is on repaying that by continuing to put in the work and performances and to keep scoring goals. Hopefully I manage that this season and beyond.
“We have a good group of players here. It’s not a massive group but we have good quality within it. Everyone is competing for places and that is the way it should be.
“Every game I have started I have given my best and worked my socks off. That shows in my performances. When you work like that and continue to put in your all, results come and performances come.”
Kanu-Robson has been locked in a ‘phoney war’ all week, with training continuing as normal even though the weekend brings no fixture.
Then, however, it will be heads-down for the run-in beginning with the visit on April 29 of re-energised champions Leicester City who Albion will be bidding to stop claiming a hat-trick of wins at The Hawthorns.
It’s the Baggies’ targets that concern Robson-Kanu though.
He says: “If you look at the games we have given our all. We have given our best in the game and sometimes you need a bit of luck.
“Goals change games and goals have gone against us in the recent games. We are fully focused on finishing the season strong.
“There is no set target. We want to get as many points as we can. That has been the goal from the beginning of the season.
“It has been the message from the manager and within the group. That has not changed. We are still working hard on the training pitch and giving our best in the games.”