Darnell Furlong admitted he is pleased to see West Bromwich Albion avoid relegation ahead of the Blues’ trip to the Hawthorns this weekend.

Town travel to the West Midlands on Saturday lunchtime chasing back-to-back victories after coming from behind to beat Charlton Athletic on Wednesday to maintain their push for promotion to the Premier League.

That result moved Kieran McKenna’s side back into second in the Championship table and above Millwall on goal difference with a game in hand.

Furlong’s former side West Brom have been in fine form under interim-boss James Morrison to guide themselves to safety, with the Baggies unbeaten in nine and having kept four successive clean sheets.

“It will be nice to see some people,” Furlong said. “It will feel a bit strange going there as the away team, but I’ve done it before when I was at West Brom and I went back to QPR. It will be nice to see some friends, but we’ll be going there for the three points.

“I’ve got a lot of people that I really care about there, some great friends with staff and players. It’s nice to see them safe and we’ll go there and try and win on Saturday.

“I knew they’d get out, I knew they had the quality. It was just a case of confidence and things like that with things going against them. I’m happy for them but focused on us.”

Town know their ultimate goal is firmly in their own hands ahead of a pair of away trips and a home meeting with Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the regular season.

Due to goal difference, six points would be enough to secure an immediate return to the Premier League and earn a third promotion in just four seasons.

“We’re not thinking about that too much,” Furlong insisted. “More so about getting three in the next, that’s what we’ll be focused on.

“There’s always pressure. Whenever you step onto a football pitch, you demand from yourself you want to get three points.

“The games are bigger and mean more at the moment with the stage of the season, but we’ve all been there before and we’ve all played seasons before. It is what it is and we’ll keep going.

“Massive games. Away from home, you need to win those games if you want to do anything.”

April’s fixture calendar has been particularly challenging with the Blues in the midst of eight matches in just 27 days to close out the campaign.

Furlong is one of a handful of virtually ever-present players in McKenna’s starting line-up, with the 30-year-old having now started each of the last 25 league matches since early December.

He said: “You’re tired at the end of games, but you’re tired at the end of every game because you give everything. You do your recovery, the performance team get you in the best shape possible and you go again.

“We’ve had a very tough schedule with a lot of games cancelled and had to be replayed. We’ve got one of the toughest schedules, but the squad is doing everything they can to prepare for it.

“We’re going to need the whole squad and we’ve shown that already with injuries. Leif Davis was out [against Charlton], so players step in and step up off the bench and we’re going to need everyone.

“We’ve got a great team behind us and they do everything they can to get us in the best shape possible, and we’re very thankful for that as players.”

Asked what it would mean to get promoted, Furlong added: “Everything. That’s why we’re doing everything we can to be ready to go and get three points.”

Photo: Matchday Images