Tony Mowbray has already begun his preparations for next season by indentifying potential new recruits.
Baggies boss checks out the market
Tony Mowbray has already begun his preparations for next season by indentifying potential new recruits.
West Brom are still battling for their Premier League lives but their manager knows it is vital he puts plans in place regarding summer transfer activity.
The Baggies boss has therefore taken a look at two players he feels could strengthen his squad for the 2009/10 campaign.
Firstly, Mowbray has run the rule over Swindon's promising young forward Simon Cox.
He said: "The day I went to watch him they got beat 1-0 by Leyton Orient and he didn't influence the game much.
"You are assuming he is the player I went to see. I didn't walk around with a big sticker on my forehead saying 'I am watching Simon Cox'
"I understand the boy Cox has scored lots of goals. I wasn't impressed on the one day I saw him and yet the game before, when a member of my stafff watched Swindon play at Northampton, he scored a hat-trick.
Job
"It is my job to watch players when I can.
"When you go to lower leagues games, with your mug on the TV so much, everyone knows you are there so it gets dripped out. 'Who is he watching, it's a done deal, we are buying him' and stuff like that."
While remaining coy on his possible interest in Cox, Mowbray did invite Livingston's 18-year-old striker Leigh Griffiths for a trial this week, and was impressed by what he saw.
"I think Leigh is a young boy with potential," he told the club's
official website.
"He has scored a few goals (17 in 25 starts for Livingston this season).
"We had a look at him in training and he has gone back now because he's got a game on Saturday.
"After discussions we'll see if we take it any further.
"He's a young boy who wouldn't be coming to go into our first team squad. If we decide to do anything further he would be a lad to come and compete with our other young players."
Injury news
Meanwhile, Mowbray has also experienced mixed news on the injury front ahead of a weekend clash with fellow strugglers Sunderland.
"Roman (Bednar) and Shelton (Martis) are training and they'll be in the squad," he said.
"(James) Morrison's got a heel injury, though, that will keep him out at the weekend.
"He's had it for a few months and he's been soldiering on but it's got too sore. We'll have to wait for it to settle down.
"Will it require surgery? I don't know. We have got to wait and see."
