Tony Mowbray keen to keep West Bromwich albion squad intact

May 19 2009 by Robert Tanner, Birmingham Post

The dust has yet to settle on West Bromwich Albion’s relegation back to the Championship and they still have one last fixture to play before their status as a Premier League club is lost but already manager Tony Mowbray has begun planning for an immediate return.

The Baggies boss has insisted the spine of the squad will be retained and he is looking to build on the young quality he already has at the club.

The only players that will be sold will be ones Mowbray sees as surplus to requirements, and he has promised Albion fans that none of his brighter lights will be sold off to balance the books.

“The chairman runs a very tight financial ship and there is no debt,” Mowbray said after the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool which confirmed relegation. “There is no need to sell any players. There isn’t a £20 million shortfall.

“There may be one or two I think may need to move on. The ones that go will be the ones I decide need to go to help the team improve and grow. You have to keep building. I have to keep improving the team bit by bit, and keep going.

“Good players are not easy to come by. You have to work hard to find them. Then we have to give them time to gain the experience. We are in a market where we can only afford young or inexperienced players. It is my job to build and I think we have a solid base now. It is important we keep that together. Hopefully, when we can come back we can just add the right bits. Then I don’t think we are far away.”

There is no doubt Albion have been their own worst enemy at times this season as individual errors have wrecked promising performances.