JONNY Evans piled praise on Jay Rodriguez after he netted a late penalty to earn Albion a dramatic 1-1 draw with Arsenal on New Year's Eve.
The result moved Albion off the foot of the Premier League table, and Evans was impressed with Rodriguez's composure to slot home the 89th-minute spot-kick.
“Jay was in a high pressured situation and he’s gone and picked the ball up and slotted it away,” said the Albion captain.
“It’s great for him, it shows the character he’s got. There hasn’t been many goals within the team but he showed good desire and I was very pleased for him.
“Sometimes I think you can panic. There’s still a long way to go and the most important thing is to keep your head.”
And the Northern Irishman is hopeful that his side can get off to a good start in the New Year, which begins with a trip to the London Stadium on Tuesday.
“For us, the most important thing is to get that first win under Alan Pardew,” he added.
“We’ve got a quick turnaround now before the next game against West Ham, which is a bit strange because they’ve had the whole week to prepare.
“We’re already in there making sure we get our recovery started and we’ll be in tomorrow making sure we continue to do that so we’re fresh for the game.
“Hopefully we can put in a performance that leads to a win. We’ve got a lot of belief in the squad at the moment.”