Mark: West Brom became the first team to avoid relegation after being bottom at Christmas during last season. Do you think that this near relegation experience has helped the Baggies psychologically in the season ahead?

Chris: I think it certainly showed we have the character not to give up until things are definitely over, so you would hope we keep that attitude up. It was certainly nice to put an end to that awful saying!

Mark: Albion have been one team whom Bolton have found hard to beat in recent years. Do you think that this recent record could be extended at the Reebok Stadium this coming Sunday?

Chris: I think it's certainly possible. We probably played Arsenal at just the right time last weekend, with Henry still out and six other top players absent and we were perhaps fortunate that Ljundberg had to be subbed in the first half. You guys have just had a trip to Turkey to contend with and seem to have a few injury problems as well, so that might just give us the edge.

Mark: Bryan Robson has spent a fair bit of money on new faces over the summer and Curtis Davies is one of the newest recruits having been signed from Luton Town. How far do you think that the young defender will go in the game?

Chris: You can often judge a player by the comments fans from his old club made about him, and most of them were of the opinion that he'd be an England player before very long. He still has things to learn, as Senderos proved last week when he muscled him out to score Arsenal's opener, but he's quick, composed on the ball, heads well and seems to have exactly the right attitude to succeed.

Mark: What are your hopes and expectations for the rest of the season. Could the Baggies cement a place in the top half and be safe or is the main aim still to avoid the relegation from the Premiership?

Chris: At the start of the season I reckoned around 13th or 14th was a realistic target, and up to last weekend it was looking like we'd struggle to get that. But as I write, we're sat in 15th place thanks to last weekends unexpected win, so maybe we will turn it around again. We didn't survive last time on the basis of the results against our fellow strugglers, so top half teams beware - but I can't realistically see us finishing in the top half this season. Sometimes, though, it's nice to be proved wrong!

Mark: The Baggies made their Premiership debut in the 2002-2003 season but had the misfortune of relegation a year later. What differences do you see from that team of two years ago to the one which takes to the field now?

Chris: For one thing, boardroom battles saw us go into that season completely unprepared and with very few players of Premiership class. This time round, I can probably think of five or six regular players in that category and we have quite a few that could well develop into it over time - although that's not something we have a great deal of. Add to that the ever-improving Chris Kirkland, who had a blinder last week, and we're clearly much better equipped this time. And, of course, every season we stay there brings in more resources to help us make a better job of it the next time round - well, in theory, at least...

Many thanks to Chris for conducting this interview with Walking Down The Manny Road at such short notice. Chris runs the unofficial West Brom website "Boing" and they can be found at www.baggies.com. It contains latest news, match reports and feature articles as well as a prediction league and is well worth a read if you follow the Albion

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