West Brom boss Tony Mowbray warned not to take Celtic 'poisoned chalice'

May 31 2009 by Robert Tanner, Sunday Mercury

“The Celtic job is a poisoned chalice. He has to win the league.

“Look at Strachan, he won three on the bounce and then finished second and still the fans don’t like him.

“Mowbray doesn’t show a lot of emotion so will Celtic fans take to him? Does he really want to go?

“He will get funds to bring in one or two players, but he has to beat Rangers and if he doesn’t then he will be under severe pressure.

“At Albion he is in a comfortable position. He is wanted by the board and by the fans.

“I think the Championship is a better league than the SPL. It is a very tough league, and very competitive.”

Hamilton is still an ever-present down The Hawthorns as a radio pundit and he believes losing Mowbray would be a huge blow for Albion, especially as he feels they are not far away from having a side that could compete in the Premier League.

“I think losing him would have a big impact on Albion,” he said. “He has brought in an attractive style of player, even the defenders like to play.

“Whoever came in after Mowbray couldn’t change the entire squad or the style too much. There would be no point bringing in a Gary Megson type of manager.

“There are no tough tackling midfielders and no nonsense centre backs and strikers.

“If Mowbray does go they will need to look at a manager who can adapt the current squad to a style.

“In the early part of the season it looked as if we were playing football for football’s sake. However, over the last few months there has been more of a cutting edge.

“There is no doubt the fans are behind him. There is a sense that there is a five to six year plan in place and that Albion can bounce straight back and be stronger in the Premier League.

“He has a squad that, if he can keep it together, will be stronger in the Premier and could survive next time.

“It is vital he keeps the nucleus of the side, like Chris Brunt, Jonas Olsson and Robert Koren.

“If he has to cut his squad down by 11 players and then sell to buy, then perhaps he feels he hasn’t been given enough to bounce back. I feel sorry for him if that is the case.

“But the squad has to be good enough to step back into the Premier League and compete.

“I think Albion are in a better position than Newcastle and Middlesbrough because they know what the Championship is all about. The club is set up so it can bounce back and relegation will not be as damaging as it will be to the other two.”