Tony Mowbray: Visiting teams will try to feed on anxiety inside Hawthorns

Mowbray admitted part of his gameplan on Saturday when his Blackburn side drew 1-1 was to press the Baggies backline into mistakes and get the home crowd nervous.

While he reckons Albion will probably finish in the top six at least this season, he believes brave teams who take the game to Darren Moore's men and turn the crowd will have the most joy.

"After the defeats to Wigan and Derby, it was a fantastic time to play West Brom because they would have been delicate," he said. "You could feel it a little bit.

"The supporters were anxious with the goalkicks, are they playing out? We tried to feed off that really, that was always the plan. People will always try to feed off that anxiety.

"I watched their last four games, I saw Derby press really effectively against them, they shot themselves in the foot against Derby but you have to have men in advanced areas of the pitch to score goals like that (against Albion).

"You try and create a gameplan for the team, but they have to buy into it and be brave to play high up the pitch. You have to let them start playing and then get on the front foot."

Mowbray admitted that Albion's style of play was also designed to entice the opposition to press.

"Why they've scored so many goals is because if they can beat that press and get through they've got strikers who can stick it in the net," he said.

"I've seen the statistics, no team other than PSG has scored more goals in the European leagues than they have. They're doing a lot of things right."

But Mowbray doesn't believe Albion are the best team he's played so far this season.

Although he says there is no team head and shoulders above the rest, current league-leaders Sheffield United have impressed him the most.

"I think momentum's huge in this division," he said. "West Brom have got players good enough to get out of this division but they felt Derby's quality the other night.

"Middlesbrough are big and physical but they've drawn their last couple of games, nobody seems to want to run away with it.

"Sheffield United are as good a team as we've played, play three at the back but push their centre-halves on and overlap, they overlap their wingbacks, they're really good side.

"Leeds obviously play an amazing brand of football with so many attackers, yet we found a way to beat them last week.

"Where will Albion finish? they'll be there or thereabouts. They want to be in the top two, I'm sure they'll be in the top six, but let's wait and see."