Sheffield Wednesday: The Owls player West Brom boss Slaven Bilic highlighted as a threat after Hawthorns clash

The Baggies retaining their two-point lead at the top of the table after Charlie Austin’s 88th-minute penalty saw Wednesday consigned to a 2-1 defeat.

And Bilic admitted he moved former Rotherham man Semi Ajayi into midfield in an attempt to nullify the threat of Owls forward Steven Fletcher, who’s dropping deep to join the midfield has been a feature of Wednesday’s play this season.

The Baggies were without midfield duo Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers through suspension, but went with the legs of Ajayi in midfield ahead of the like of veteran former England midfielder Gareth Barry. Ajayi has played in central defence this season.

Bilic said: “We knew they’d play direct and maybe when they move the ball well with Fletcher, then you don’t want the centre backs to move all the time with Fletcher, because Fletcher wins the ball, you don’t want problems there.”

Wednesday set up largely how the Croatian expected, he said, offering a tough, physical game that he likened to a derby.

“It was a good game,” he said. “We expected a very difficult game. They are a team of men, they have no kids. I’m not talking only about their age but they are very physical, with enough quality.

“In the first half it was not easy for us but I expected them to be more aggressive. We controlled the game, we scored, we got into good situations to score another one, but we not greedy enough in a positive way.

“In the second half they stepped up, we gave them a penalty unfortunately and we gave them momentum. We needed a reaction from the bench.

“We deservedly won the game.”