Sam Johstone looking for double delight in survival battle
Sam Johnstone says Albion will do everything they can to pick up two wins this week as they bid to keep alive their hopes of staying in the Premier League.
The Baggies last two outings have seen them secure impressive victories over Chelsea and Southampton.
But while Sam Allardyce’s side have enjoyed an up-turn in form, so to have relegation rivals Newcastle – with Steve Bruce’s men having taken seven points from their last three games.
That means – with seven matches left to play – Albion sit nine points from safety with Burnley and Brighton now the teams sitting just above the drop zone.
This week, though, Albion have two games in quick succession with the Baggies travelling to take on Leicester on Thursday before they then face Villa in the derby on Sunday.
And Johnstone says he and his teams mates are entering the week full of confidence and determined to build on their impressive recent form.
“We’ve had two really, really positive results and we’re desperate to build on that success,” the goalkeeper said.
“The lads deserve a lot of credit for digging in and producing that type of football.
“Confidence is obviously high because of the eight goals scored and six points secured, but it’s also high because we know we’ve been playing well for a while now and not just in the last two games.
“We’ve got another crucial week coming up.
“Every game means so much from now until the end of the season and we know every point or goal can have a big impact on the final outcome.
“Leicester are pushing for a place in the Champions League and are in need of three points because there’s a clutch of teams also chasing the top four.
“They will be on a high having won at Wembley on Sunday and booked a place in the FA Cup final.
“We know how strong they are in several areas across the pitch, but we’ve proved that we can be a match for anyone when we play as well as we have done in previous matches.
“Our performances and results against the top teams in this division, especially away from home, have been good. There’s no reason why we can’t go there and get another positive result.”
On the derby against Villa, Johnstone added: “The game against Aston Villa then comes around quickly. There’s not much recovery time between the Leicester game on the Thursday and then the Villa game on the Sunday, but it is what it is and we’ll give it our all.
“It’s a big seven days, but I’m confident we can continue our form and pick up more good results.
“We’ve just got to keep our focus on ourselves. There’s no point worrying about other teams or other results because we can’t have any impact on that.
“What we can impact is our own performance and our own result and I’m hoping we can get two more wins this week.”
