Slaven Bilic thrilled with his West Brom wing-back duo

The Baggies face Sheffield United this evening in what is a crucial clash in the battle for Premier League survival.

They enter the game on the back of impressive performances against Tottenham and Manchester United – even if, ultimately, those games ended in defeat.

Bilic’s side outplayed Spurs for long spells before a lapse in concentration led to Harry Kane scoring a late winner.

While at Old Trafford, the Baggies were the victim of VAR controversy and should have been awarded a penalty with the score goalless.

Those performances were achieved, in part, after Bilic switched to a new 3-5-2 formation with Townsend and Furlong his wing-backs.

Townsend’s journey to the Premier League has been remarkable with the 27-year-old having now played in the top four tiers of English football.

Furlong, meanwhile, was snapped up from Championship side QPR.

And Bilic thinks the duo deserve credit for their performances since being switched from full-back to wing-back.

“We play a system where those players are very important,” the head coach said.

“They have to cover a lot of ground.

“They are giving you width, they have to provide quality, they have to get up and down. It’s a big job.

“One of the reasons we have done well in that system is because of the two players playing there – Darnell and Conor.

“They were good last season in the Championship but they have improved a lot – defensively and offensively.

“They are the reason why in recent games we have been so close to a result.

“They are doing well, they can still improve – like every player.

“But are they doing well? Yes they are, I have to say that and I am very pleased for both of them.

“They are hard-working guys.”

Bilic continued: “We know the story about Conor Townsend, where he has come from.

“And it’s great for Darnell too, he came from the Championship, from QPR, still relatively young.

“Now he is doing well in the Premier League.

“Also, which is crucial for those positions, we have two or three players who can step in and who can challenge them.

“It’s all about competition in those positions. But at the moment I am pleased with how they are playing.”

Meanwhile, Bilic feels it was important Albion wrote to the FA for clarity over the controversial refereeing decisions in their defeat at Manchester United.

Referee David Coote awarded the Baggies a penalty after Bruno Fernandes fouled Conor Gallagher but then overturned his decision.

“We have raised it with the FA,” Bilic added.

“We don’t expect a lot. But we have to show we noticed.

“It’s important to do that because then they have to say something.

“It was bad, a bad feeling a bad decision – bad everything.

“But that was at that game.

“We can’t look at that game in a negative way, there were many positives out of it and now we are focused on Sheffield United.”