Irvine: West Brom close to reaching potential

Defeats to Newcastle United, Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham have seen Irvine's side slip down the league table, and heading into this weekend they are only a point clear of the relegation zone.

One of the four sides beneath them, Hull City, are their opponents this weekend and Irvine believes West Brom can end their poor run after an encouraging display against West Ham on Wednesday.

That match saw them end a run of three games without a goal, though they were still beaten 2-1, but Irvine was able to find positives in the performance.

"We exist on such fine margins and we are not far off getting the results we all want," he said.

“I don't think people can say we've been miles away. That's not what I feel and it's not what the players feel as Joleon Lescott made clear this week as well.

"We had 23 attempts at goal against West Ham so that doesn't suggest that we've played really poorly.

"The performances against West Ham and Arsenal and with 10 men against Chelsea were such that the players haven't lost confidence and haven't lost that self-belief."

The return of Gareth McAuley will give West Brom a boost for the match, with the Northern Ireland international set for his first start under Irvine after struggling with injuries all season.