Gary Rowett makes claim on West Brom ahead of Millwall clash | OneFootball

Millwall boss Gary Rowett believes upcoming opponents West Bromwich Albion are a "big club" who will be expected to be in the play-offs at the end of the season, speaking to the South London Press.

The Baggies made a promising start to last season following their relegation from the Premier League but fan discontent was apparent even during that bright early-season run, with many supporters not a fan of Valerien Ismael's style of play.

With that and results worsening during the latter stages of Ismael's tenure, he was replaced by Steve Bruce in February and despite having an excellent chance to guide them to a top-six finish at the end of last term, he was unable to make a promising start to life at The Hawthorns which consigned them to another season in the Championship.

And Bruce made an extremely poor start to this season too, being sacked in October and replaced by Carlos Corberan who has enjoyed a reasonably decent start to life in the Midlands despite Albion's recent inconsistency.

Signing the likes of John Swift, Jed Wallace and Okay Yokuslu last summer, it's perhaps no surprise that they have managed to fire themselves into a much better position now with the Baggies in ninth place and five points adrift of the play-offs.

And Rowett believes they are expected to secure a top-six spot, with this weekend's clash between his side and Albion potentially crucial for both sides' promotion chances.

He said: "Someone like Jed, of course you have got to say that [the West Brom v Millwall game is massive] because they need to win games to get into the top six.

"They are a big club and that’s the expectation. It’s no different for us.

"We’ve got to go up there and put a performance on and get a result. We’ve got to do it in that game, we’ve got to do that in the game against Luton – we’ve got to do it in the next game after that."

The Verdict:

They certainly have the ingredients to be at the top end of the division, not only having quality but also a decent amount of experience with Erik Pieters proving to be a solid addition at the back.

Looking at their remaining games, they have some very winnable games with Corberan's men surely expecting to take three points away from the Rotherham United, Queens Park Rangers, Blackpool and Swansea City games.

And looking at some of their other opponents, the Sheffield United game will be difficult as well as the Stoke City clash at the bet365 Stadium, but their home games against Millwall, Sunderland and Norwich City could be more winnable considering how good they have been at The Hawthorns.

Improving their away form has to be at the top of their priority list at this stage because it could make all the difference between now and the end of the season, with the Baggies just two points adrift of the play-offs if they win their game in hand.

They are certainly capable of achieving their mission of being in the top six - but do they have the mental strength to stay in this race following their decline last season? Consistency could be key between now and the end of this term.