ALAN Pardew intends to give the Emirates FA Cup the focus it deserves as Albion travel to Exeter City on Saturday.
Pardew admits he will welcome a break from Premier League action and believes the tie against the Grecians could relieve a little bit of the pressure on his side.
The Baggies find themselves on an extended winless sequence in the top-flight, and Head Coach Alan expects the famous cup competition to carry extra significance as a result.
"In a way the pressure goes away a little bit in terms of our results in the Premier League. For us in such a disappointing season - two wins in the league - it probably carries a little bit more importance to our fans," he said.
"You could argue that in terms of giving the season something to talk about, something to hang on to and to actually boost our confidence, it's a competition I think we should enter with full gusto."
The opportunity to breathe new life into Albion's campaign is not lost on Pardew, but he concedes St James Park is a tough place to go in search of that elusive win.
"The winning mentality has deserted us but I've been fairly happy with the performance levels. I've had teams who've not played as well as that and won. It's about having that mental power to get over the line.
"Exeter is a tough place to go. It's not easy, the pitch isn't great and they're redeveloping the stadium so that's going to give it a strange feel. But as long as we're focused and we give a performance like we have done in the last three or four games then we'll be okay."