The big play-off preview: Underdogs West Brom still have plenty of bite

There is an argument that little ditty, which has been belted out with such gusto in recent weeks, reflects recent meetings in this region.

After all, the Baggies are unbeaten in four games against Aston Villa and Birmingham City this season, and even though Wolves have recently overtaken them, that memorable day at Molineux in 2012 remains the last fixture between those two.

But those words are mainly just fanbase bravado, a celebration designed to provoke. They don’t accurately reflect the mood heading into this play-off double header.

Despite finishing one place and four points above Villa, the Baggies have been branded the underdogs for this tie, not only by the pundits, but by many of their own supporters.

Albion’s unofficial motto among the fanbase is ‘Semper Te Fallant’ – which means ‘they’ll always let you down’.

There is a realism that courses through the veins, because the majority are Black Country folk who don’t sugarcoat what they see. And what they’ve seen this season hasn’t always convinced.

On top of that, Albion head into the play-offs with a caretaker boss in charge and uncertainty surrounding the future in both the dugout and the dressing room.

Their neighbours, on the other hand, recently enjoyed a club record winning streak inspired by two of their own, Dean Smith and Jack Grealish. It has them believing.

Smith may insist it is Albion who are favourites, but those are mind games on the eve of battle designed to remind both Villa players and fans nothing is won yet.

The Baggies are the unfancied and the unfashionable, epitomised by the limited presence of national media at Jimmy Shan’s pre-match press conference.

The story was at Villa, or ‘Frank Lampard’s Derby’, who both held their conferences at the same time.

Shan wasn’t fazed, saying: “For me walking in here there’s probably two or three more people than normal! It’s busy for me today.

“There could be 100 people here or two, it has no bearing on how we approach the game or me watching Villa games or looking back retrospectively on our games.

“It’s exactly the same for the players. If this was chockablock it would have no bearing as well, we wouldn’t feel that pressure.

“We know we need to make sure the best version of West Bromwich Albion turns up Saturday and Tuesday. If it does we’ll be in a good place.”

However, Shan’s story does have the potential of being a special one, even if it’s not the sexy one right now.

Having worked his way up from the under-sevens to the first team over the past 13 years, he is two games away from taking the Baggies to Wembley.

“The journey has been incredible and, like anybody in any profession, it’s one that I have put the hours in and the hard work in to achieve,” he said. “If I’m being honest with you, I’ve got one eye on going to Wembley so I can get a new suit!

“I’ve got my sister-in-law’s wedding in August and my attire is not too clever, so if I can get a freebie I would be much obliged!

“The only suit I’ve got at home is for christenings, weddings and funerals, but other than that I am definitely a tracksuit man, so it will definitely be a tracksuit (tomorrow).”

With 10 senior games under his belt, Shan knows he’s inexperienced. But he’s done his best to guard against that.

As well as bringing in Steven Reid and Michael Appleton to assist, he’s also sought out as much advice as possible in the past few weeks.

“I’ve not been in this predicament before of a) working at this level and b) a two-legged tie,” he admitted.

“I’ve spoken to many managers who have had experiences in the play-offs, both positive and negative.

“The main message I got back was you can’t look at it as two legs, you can’t think we’re going to play a certain way in this one and a certain way in the other one.

“You look at any team sport, the game plan in simplistic terms is to try and deny the opposition and exploit the opposition. We’re no different.”

Perhaps being underdogs suits this side which played that card so well in the Premier League. Albion have struggled with the weight of expectation this season.

And it would be incredibly foolish to rule out a team who has been in the top four for most of the campaign with a strike-force that has 45 goals to its name.

Albion have strengths up front and, under Shan, they have been playing to them, moving the ball forward quicker to their dangermen.

Much will rely on Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez, particularly now Hal Robson-Kanu’s three-game ban for his petulant red card at Derby has been confirmed, ending his season prematurely.

Shan has been forced into making contingency plans. “With him being ruled out we’ve been looking at ways and means to get different personnel into that position. Maybe these people do things differently to him.”

But the crucial battle is likely to be in midfield, where Villa will look to Grealish to inspire them. Albion, in turn, will look to their own captain to do the same.

Chris Brunt has become the heartbeat of this team under Shan, the orchestrator and anchor, the creator who mops up danger. If he plays well, Albion play well.

But the 34-year-old will need help from those around him to contain Grealish and McGinn, and it is the engine room which should concern the Baggies the most.

This is also a revenge mission. The last time Albion met their closest rivals in a big double header, they lost both.

That FA Cup quarter-final defeat in March 2015, four days after losing to Villa in the league, was painful in more ways than one.

That is the past, and this is the present, but there is a future at stake.

Albion are on the clock and need to bounce back to the top tier sooner rather than later because their Chinese owner Guochuan Lai has shown no intention of investing the sort of cash needed to fund a promotion charge.

This season isn’t last chance saloon by any stretch, because selling Salomon Rondon alone in the summer would more than make up the £11m shortfall in parachute payments. Albion should still be highly competitive next season.

But it does represent their best chance of getting back up, because this squad will be broken up in the summer if they are one of the unsuccessful trio in the play-offs.

Things might have been so much different, of course, and the owner’s decision to plump for Darren Moore instead of Dean Smith last summer could now come back to haunt him and the supporters in the most galling way possible.

Chief executive Mark Jenkins insists the financial health of the club will not be under threat, regardless of what happens in the next few weeks, and having trodden this path before, he can be trusted to keep the balance sheet balanced.

For the next five days though, that financial uncertainty will be the dry undercurrent to a visceral and emotive 180 minutes of football between these two old enemies.

Albion and Villa have scored 169 goals between them this season, and let in 123. The next few days could bring any number of things to the table, but it is unlikely to be dull.

The Baggies can draw on their 2-0 win at Villa Park just two months ago, even if both teams have changed since then.

Shan’s phone has felt the full force of this tie’s importance this week. Having grown up in Bartley Green, his family and friends are mainly Birmingham City fans.

“I’ve had thousands of messages from Blues fans and hundreds of messages from Villa fans,” he said.

“I’ve been inundated with various different people getting into contact with me for various things, for tickets, and ‘Make sure you beat those Villa boys!’ and ‘Do us a favour Shanny, we’re Villa fans!’ and things like that.”

His own mum Jacqui used to follow Birmingham City home and away, but her allegiances have shifted.

“She’s a Blues fan but she’s been to every Albion game, home and away this season,” revealed Shan. “When I used to go out before every game to do the warm-up, I’d get about 500 pictures of me of me doing the warm-up!

“I think it’s fair to say my mom is a West Bromwich Albion fan. She’ll probably tell you otherwise and say she’s a James Shan fan.”

Shan himself supports Liverpool, but he was so engrossed in preparing for tomorrow, he didn’t realise his team had beaten Barcelona 4-0 until the morning afterwards.

Instead of watching one of the greatest nights in European football history, he was watching Villa games on tape.

He is acutely aware of their recent form, but not scared of it.

“Villa have had an incredible run, their winning streak was excellent,” admitted Shan. “But we’ve got to look at ourselves.

“The season has gone now, it’s a total different pressure, atmosphere and prize playing in these play-offs.”

That’s the hope for Albion. That what’s gone before is meaningless, that the play-offs are an unpredictable beast that renders 10-game winning streaks pointless.

But they also need to step up and grab this opportunity that is in front of them.

After weeks of preparing for the play-offs, there is no excuse for a slow start.

“The last two training sessions have been fantastic,” said Shan. “We’ve done a little bit more in the classroom than we normally would because we had to evaluate and wrap up (the) Derby (game) very quickly and look at things to take from that to improve us.

“There’s definitely been a focus and the last two training sessions, the level of intensity, the want to improve and be part of something, has been there for all to see.

“We’ll make sure West Bromwich Albion FC is as best prepared as possible for both games.”

If that’s the case, there is every chance The Hawthorns will be singing their own version of 'Allez, Allez, Allez' come 10pm next Tuesday.

Albion's likely line-up (3-5-2)

Subs: Bond, Adarabioyo, Townsend, Field, Morrison, Phillips, Murphy.