James Morrison believes Albion produced the “complete performance” at West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.
The Baggies claimed an eye-catching 3-1 triumph in the capital city thanks to strikes from Felix Horn Myhre, JJ Morgan and Callum Styles – goals which secured a first league win at the London Stadium.
The visitors restricted the well-fancied Hammers to very few clear opportunities despite the hosts starting the weekend as the top scorers in the whole of the EFL.
Morrison was quick to praise the players’ efforts and says they “worked so hard for each other”.
The boss said: “It was probably one of our best performances of the season and one of our best results. It was a complete performance.
“When you come to places like this you have to be able to take the ball and show bravery. I was also really impressed with our defensive shape and the way we stuck to the plan right until the end. Massive credit to the lads for that. They worked so hard for each other. I’m really proud.
“There were times when they were throwing quite a lot at us and we stood tall and were able to defend those attacks. They scored their goal through a bit of individual quality through Jarrod Bowen – he’s got that Premier League quality.
“The lads regrouped after that and we put the belief into them again at the break. We thought we were in control but we knew we needed to show that again with our energy.
“When I was watching West Ham in the week, I could see areas where we could hurt them. We tried to put that into practice through the week. That practice and that part of the plan paid off today, which we’re really pleased about.
“We knew we wanted to get in behind and to try and drop their line a bit so the spaces would open up in the middle of the pitch. For the first goal, George Campbell has been able to play through into Isaac Price and then we’ve got in. It was nice to watch that back in the dressing room after the game as a coach because we’ve been working on that.
“We knew that West Ham’s central defenders would be very physical we wanted to try and be cuter, load the midfield and have intelligent runners to get in behind. I felt JJ Morgan’s run would be suitable for this game. It’s pleasing when we get it right, but it’s credit to the lads for executing the plan and having that belief.
“From a defensive point, we knew we had to defend set-plays really well today because West Ham are a big threat. I think that’s why I’m so pleased with the defensive structure of the side. We were compact and we restricted them. When I’ve watched them, they have had some really big chances in other matches.
“We were clinical in both boxes today, which is what I’ve been asking of them. Fair play to the lads for being clinical, but we have to maintain that level of ruthlessness.”
