Slaven Bilic sends West Brom stern message ahead of Leeds United showdown

West Bromwich Albion head coach Slaven Bilic has sent a stern message to his players ahead of his sides New Year's Day showdown with Leeds United.

The Baggies enter the clash with Marcelo Bielsa's outfit on the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough on Sunday which was just their second loss of the campaign.

Leeds and Albion both sit at the top of the Championship on 51 points with the Whites leading the way on goal difference alone before the evening kick-off.

Bilic, though, has demanded a response from his squad following an out of character display at the Hawthorns.

“It is not nice, it is not what we wanted, but this group have made it together and it is only us who can get it back," Bilic said.

“Nobody is complacent, starting with me, through to the club press, the board, the players, the staff – nobody is complacent, and we are up for it.

“We have to concentrate on ourselves and get back what we’ve been, up until very recently.

“Every game is difficult.

“You can make things easier for yourself, or if the opponent is having an off day, but there’s no complacency - but then again, all I can blame on that first half performance is complacency.

“It’s not deliberate, we weren’t prepared differently for any other games, that yesterday is a bit easier and Wednesday will be a bit harder – no, no, no, no.

“There are no excuses, no moaning.

“Nobody likes defeats but you can learn a lot from defeats and sometimes you need a defeat to get back on to winning tracks.”