Clarke - I will be ruthless

Steve Clarke: New West Brom boss will not shy away from making tough decisions

New West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Clarke insists he is ready to be 'ruthless' as he prepares for his first job in the managerial hot-seat.

The new Baggies manager, who will be introduced to the media for the first time later on Monday, was appointed at The Hawthorns following Roy Hodgson's departure to take up the England job.

Clarke has previously served on the coaching staff of Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham accepts that he will have a different relationship with his players now he is in the top job.

But the 48-year-old claims he will have no problem making the transition from being the players' confidante to the man who will upset various members of his squad throughout the season.

"When you're the assistant, you can be nice to almost everybody. But as a head coach, even though you want to be nice to everybody, at the end of the day, you can only pick 11 players plus seven substitutes."
Steve Clarke Quotes of the week

Clarke told the club's official website: "I think I will need to be a bit more selfish now I'm a head coach - I'll have to be very clear with my ideas. I will also have to be a bit more ruthless.

"When you're the assistant, you can be nice to almost everybody. But as a head coach, even though you want to be nice to everybody, at the end of the day, you can only pick 11 players plus seven substitutes.

"There is always going to be a number of players who are not particularly happy that they're not in the team for whatever reason. That's something I'll have to deal with - but it's something I'm comfortable with and ready for."

Fantastic response

Having been appointed during the close-season and with many of his squad out of the country either taking a well-earned break or on international duty, Clarke is still to meet his players face-to-face, but has managed to speak to the vast majority.

"I think my philosophy at any team I've coached has always been to try and get the ball down and play good football. I've always tried to entertain the public and this job will be no exception."
Steve Clarke Quotes of the week

He said: "I've had a fantastic response from the players. I've been respectful of trying not to interrupt them while they're on holiday, or working really hard for their countries in Poland and Ukraine, so I sent out a text message to introduce myself, asking if they would be free to talk for a couple of minutes.

"I've now spoken to almost everybody. It was really just a chat to say hello and to tell the lads I'm looking forward to seeing them at the start of pre-season training."

The new Baggies boss has pledged to build on the defensive foundations left in place by Hodgson and is keen for his side to adopt an attacking approach during his stint at the helm.

He added: "I think my philosophy at any team I've coached has always been to try and get the ball down and play good football. I've always tried to entertain the public and this job will be no exception.

"You want to entertain the public as much as you can, so if we can add some really good attacking football to the solid defence we already have, that would be an ideal scenario."