Tony Pulis is expecting a stern test when Sunderland face his West Bromwich Albion side on Saturday.
The Black Cats will be aiming to bounce back from successive defeats, with their last win coming before Christmas as Watford were beaten at the Stadium of Light.
David Moyes’ side will be backed by a sell-out support when they travel to the Hawthors, and speaking pre-match Pulis paid tribute to the Sunderland manager and the red and white army.
“We need to dust ourselves down and make sure we’re ready for the game against Sunderland.
“It’ll be a tough game – every game in the Premier League is – and I have great respect for David as he’s a top manager.”
He continued: “One thing his teams never do is lie down and they’ll come here tomorrow having a right go, so we’ll have to be at our best because they’ll have a sell-out support and they have absolutely fantastic backing wherever they go.
“It’ll be a tough game for us and we’ll have to be absolute on it to get a result.”
On Friday the Baggies bolstered their ranks with their first January signing as Jake Livermore moved from Hull City, and he could make his debut on Saturday against the Black Cats.
“We’re very pleased because in this window we’ve lost Callum and Craig, so to bring a player in was important for us and we’re very pleased to get Jay because we think he’ll be a very good addition to the squad.
“If I was hedging my bets, I’d say he will be on the bench.”
He added: “We have a late fitness test on Jonny which is important for us and we will get some information from FIFA on Nyom.”