Derby County host West Bromwich Albion at Pride Park on Saturday in the Championship.
Derby County manager Phillip Cocu has given his honest opinion on West Bromwich Albion and their boss Slaven Bilic ahead of Saturday’s Championship clash between the Rams and the Baggies at Pride Park (Derby website).
The East Midlands outfit began the league campaign brightly, winning 2-1 at newly relegated Huddersfield Town, but two draws followed – 0-0 with Swansea City and 2-2 at Stoke City – before falling to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Bristol City.
As for the Baggies, they have had a brighter start to the 2019-20 season, winning 2-1 both at Nottingham Forest and at Luton Town, while drawing at The Hawthorns against Millwall and Reading, though they did lose 2-1 to Millwall in the Carabao Cup.
Both teams boast new managers, Cocu replacing Frank Lampard following his switch to Chelsea, and Bilic taking over from James Shan, who himself had replaced Darren Moore near the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
“West Bromwich Albion are a good team and they have an experienced manager,” Cocu told the Derby media team. “They’ve had a good start to the season and they are a good side in possession and have players who want to be on the ball. It is good for us also that they, like us, like to have the ball and I look forward to these types of games.”
The West Brom boss began his managerial career in 2001, taking the reins at Croatian side Hajduk Split, before managing the national team – first the Under-21s, then the first team – until 2012, and then had stints at Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas, West Ham United and Al-Ittihad.
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