By Mandeep Sanghera

If a top striker plays against me and doesn't do anything then maybe he is going to get hammered Curtis Davies

West Brom defender Curtis Davies has been carrying the weight of English football's lower league's on his shoulders this season and will come under the microscope against Manchester United on Monday.

Davies, 20, was helping Luton to the League One title this time last year and had played only six games in the Championship this season before his swift rise into the Premiership.

He made a �3m move to the Hawthorns and, with the January transfer window looming, his performances are likely to be used a barometer by other clubs weighing up whether to buy British.

But Davies shrugs off any pressure associated with his rise with an air of confidence and an impressive attitude.

And, while Davies will be up against Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy at Old Trafford, he believes the onus is more on the United duo than him to show their worth.

"I feel more people have got a point to prove against me," Manchester United fan Davies told BBC Sport.

"I'm only from Luton and had only played about 60 games before I came to West Brom.

"If I'm playing against someone who is more high-profile and I have a decent game against them I will take good confidence.

Davies is relishing facing strikers like Van Nistelrooy and Rooney

"But if a top striker plays against me and doesn't do anything then maybe he is going to get hammered.

"So I just take it as a confidence booster every time I do well against anyone."

Davies concedes there is a risk associated with Premiership clubs raiding the lower echelons of English football but is also acutely aware that there are rough diamonds capable of shining in the top flight.

"It is the risk because when you play in the Premiership after playing in League One you notice the difference," he added.

"People ask: they might be good in that division but can they make the step up?

"The gaffer here had been watching me since March so it took him about six months to actually make a bid.

"It is the risk associated with such a move because if you buy someone who isn't that high-profile and it goes wrong then it might come down on you like a ton of bricks.

"But I do think there are a lot of players who can make it from the lower leagues."

In the lower leagues when you play against teams you usually play against a big one and a fast one - now some of them are big and fast Curtis Davies

Davies keenly promotes the cause of the players outside the Premiership but his plaudits do come with a note of caution for those who may follow his path.

He added: "It is a massive step up from the championship. The punishment factor plays a big part.

"Sometimes you think you are doing well but then all of a sudden one little slip and the other team are in.

"It is hard to take that on board in your head because when you have done well for 70 minutes, then for one minute you slip up and you are punished, your performance goes out of the window.

"There is more of a range of the strikers you play against now.

"In the lower leagues when you play against teams you usually play against a big one and a fast one - now some of them are big and fast.

"There are also those with good movement and they are all in the same team!"