ALBION's PL2 boss James Shan is looking forward to taking on a fresh challenge in the Premier League Cup this evening.
The Baggies host Sheffield United in their second Group E fixture at Aggborough tonight (ko 7pm).
“The league campaign is what it is at the moment, but this cup competition gives us the chance to pick up some points and look to progress,” said Shan.
“It’s nice to have a different match to normal. In our first Premier League Cup game against Villa, it almost seemed like it was just another league match.
“We actually know quite a bit about Sheffield United even though they aren't in our division. I did a couple of courses with their Academy Manager Travis Binnion and got to know him well.
“They play Birmingham in their league, and my good friend Richard Beale is the under-23 manager there, so I’ve got an insight into what they do and how they do things from him.
“They’ll be very similar to us in terms of age and stage, so I’ve said to our boys that it’s going to be a rarity to come up against a team who are comparable in age to us.
“We’ll be back to our core squad for the game, and I’m looking forward to a performance where hopefully we can be a bit more dominant.”