Former Chelsea captain Branislav Ivanovic has explained his decision to return to England with West Brom this season.

Ivanovic was snapped up by the Baggies from Zenit St Petersburg.

"I liked and respected Slaven (Bilic, manager) a lot even before we started working together," he told the Daily Mail.

"When he gave me the call, 15 or 20 seconds into our chat I thought, 'Wow, I would like to work with that guy'. We played in the same position and have the same mentality, so it is a big pleasure to work with Slav.

"At my age I feel the game differently now and I am taking every chance as though it is the last one. It is not easy to be in the relegation zone but I hope we can do everything to survive."