07-02-2019, 12:05
![[Image: WBAForest.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/bbcQk41/WBAForest.jpg)
It's worth remembering, as our charge for automatic promotion comes off the rails, that this time last year many of us feared back-to-back relegations. Even as recently as August, it looked more likely that we were set for mid-table mediocrity than for any part in the promotion race, and nothing can illustrate that better than the current position of our co-relegates Stoke, who we visit on Saturday. Filling the side with Albion rejects has (surprisingly enough) done them little good, and even a change of managers hasn't lifted the malaise. They're likely to give us a game nevertheless, as will Forest, who visit the Hawthorns on Tuesday night.
Even if we're adjusting our sights to the playoffs, a place in the top six is by no means guaranteed, and we really do need at least one win from these two to keep the wheels rolling.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley
