Long not fazed by Chelsea trip

20 August 2011 08:00

West Brom striker Shane Long insists the team have nothing to fear when they continue the daunting start to their Barclays Premier League campaign at Chelsea on Saturday evening.

Albion could hardly have asked for a tougher way to begin the season, kicking off with a 2-1 defeat against champions Manchester United and then following it up with a trip to Stamford Bridge, where they lost 6-0 on the opening day of last term.

But Long is convinced Roy Hodgson's side can head to London in a positive mood, and said: "Obviously it is two tough games to start the season. But we showed against Manchester United that we can put it up to the best teams in the league."

He added: "It is tough if we come out of these two games with zero points and be at the bottom of the table. But you know that you have played the best two teams in the league and everything is downhill from there on.

"Personally, I am looking forward to playing against Chelsea.

"Hopefully we can capitalise on the good performance we put in against Manchester United and take it into Stamford Bridge.

"I think you have to go in wherever you are playing believing that you can get three points.

"Let's hope we can get a result at Chelsea and kick on from there.

"Obviously, it will be their first home game of the season and they will be well up for it.

"But if we put in a performance like we did against United then we can get a result."

Source: PA