Slaven Bilić says it would be a “sin” to ignore Christmas but insists Albion must be more focused than ever to truly make it the most wonderful time of the year.
The Baggies have the opportunity to retain top spot in the Sky Bet Championship against Brentford at The Hawthorns on Saturday (ko 3pm).
But the boss admits they will have their work cutout to achieve a positive result when they take on the in-form Bees in their final fixture before Christmas Day.
“Of course it would be nice to be top at Christmas, and we are in a good position to do that,” he admitted. “On the other hand we are again facing a team that is in form. They’ve won seven of their last 10 or whatever.
“Brentford play good football and I like them. They don’t seem to feel pressure and they play free football. They have a great mixture between young players and some experience.
“So, as I said, they are a very offensive team that is not conceding many goals. It is a big one for us, but we are at home, playing in front of a big crowd.
“I’m very confident, but we respect them, of course we do - but we will do everything we can to win this game.
“The problem with Christmas in football is that you can lose focus.
“There are parties, your family is gathering, and you have four games. You have to, basically, use that in a good way to be more focused and to gain the advantage from the others, who potentially are not in the same state of mind.”
“Or, you can waste all that you have done since June in the space of 10 days, which is not very clever!
“But we are focused and it’s about the balance, it’s Christmas time, of course you want the guys to spend some time with their family, and you have to feel Christmas, you can’t ignore Christmas, that would be a sin at the end of the day.
“Christmas is the best time of the year, but you have to find the balance with that, and that’s by being even more focused.”
