Source: Team_Talk
Di Matteo: Baggies full of belief
Roberto Di Matteo is brimming with optimism ahead of his team's trip to Old Trafford - despite the fact he is missing key men.[LNB] Striker Peter Odemwingie and midfielder Jerome Thomas are both battling to be fit for the game with knee and calf knocks, respectively.[LNB]The duo have been responsible for seven of the nine goals that West Brom have plundered this season in the league, but Di Matteo is refusing to show any fear. [LNB]"They are both struggling," he conceded. "Thomas has a slightly better chance of being available for Saturday than Odemwingie.[LNB]"Friday is the last day of training before the game, so we will wait until then and then decide. [LNB]"Peter is a very important player for us, but we have to think about the rest of the season as well, it's not just Saturday.[LNB]"We are a team with some individually good players, and we know the importance of those players, but I think we try to win as a team. [LNB]"That's the only way forward for us. We will still try to be competitive. [LNB]"We go in with belief, and if the opposition has a better day or is stronger than us than we'll have to deal with that."[LNB]Manchester United's stuttering form in their last two outings - draws against Sunderland and Bolton - has given fresh hope of the Baggies claiming a positive result. [LNB]Di Matteo, though, has dismissed claims that it is a good time to face United. [LNB]"I've heard all that before," he added. "When we went to Stamford Bridge everyone said, 'It's a good time to play Chelsea, they haven't won a game in pre-season'. It ended up 6-0. [LNB]"For me they are a great team. There's never a good time to play teams of that quality. It's going to be a difficult afternoon for us."[LNB]The opening fixtures were particularly cruel to the Baggies and have seen them travel to Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and now Manchester United in the first two months of the term. [LNB]Despite this, they are the highest-placed Midlands team in the league in sixth. [LNB]"We looked at our first four away games, and having to play all of those teams, it's tough," Di Matteo added.[LNB]"Having said that, I don't think that if you go to Stoke City or West Ham it's any easier, they just throw different challenges at you."
