West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Mowbray ready for Stoke City showdown

Nov 22 2008

concentration and trying to break them down.

"Stoke are good at what they do and it appears they are better at home than away.

"Last season I would suggest they over-achieved and did very well to get promotion. Now they are making a very good fist of staying in the Premiership."

Albion have picked up just one point from their last six games and some pundits have questioned whether Mowbray might have to swap his expansive style of play in favour of a more defensive approach.

But Mowbray is not a man for turning as he has a long-term vision.

He added: "I have spoken about developing, building and moulding the structure of the club so that ultimately, somewhere down the line, we can attract world-class players.

"You attract top footballers playing a brand of football they like and can see themselves fitting into, which is what I'm trying to build.

"I am trying to create a vehicle where better quality players want to be part of what I want to do.

"If we fail and do not manage to stay up that will be a setback and we will have to try again. You can only work within the means you possess.

"We are falling a little short at the present moment. But it is still early days and we are within touch of a lot of teams.

"If we were to win the next two games we would probably be in the top half of the table."