Team-work off the pitch helps us on it – Williams
JOHN Williams has offered some insight into his transfer talks with West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Pulis and technical director Nick Hammond.
Williams has worked closely with the duo since taking over as Baggies chairman last summer.
He was speaking about the club’s search for a new striker to provide cover and competition for Salomon Rondon and Hal Robson-Kanu when he touched upon his working relationship with Pulis and Hammond.
Williams revealed the trio shared a sensible approach when it comes to short, medium and longer-term planning.
“Of course you need cover but you’ve got to work out strategically and cleverly,” he said. “Tony buys that.
“I like this part of the job with Tony. We do talk on a strategic and tactical level with Nick Hammond all the time, about what is the best way to go forward in both the short term and medium term.
“The thing is with football, you don’t get the short term right, there is no medium term.
“You’ve got to make sure that what you’ve got isn’t 11 guys that can only play for Pulis and who like the current board. That would be a dereliction of duty. You’re looking at a balance.” Meanwhile, Pulis has stressed the importance of getting points on the board early, with Albion facing a tough run-in. A new club-record tally is in sight after the win over Bournemouth lifted West Brom to 40 points with 12 games to go. But their remaining fixtures are not all that friendly with trips to Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City lurking. Home games against Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are also on the horizon. “Half of the games are against the top six or seven teams,” Pulis said. “So we know there’s going to be a run of games we’re going to struggle to get anything out of.
“That’s coming, so I’ll keep my feet on the ground and make sure they will as well.
“Never take anything for granted in this league – it’s the hardest league in the world. You have to be up for it every game, irrespective of who you’re playing.”
Albion’s campaign tailed off last season, with the Baggies unable to win any of their last nine games.
But Pulis believes things are very different this time round.
“It’s a different group than last year,” he said. “It’s a smaller, much more close-knit group. We’ve only got 16 or 17 senior players.”