DOWLING HAS BIG PLANS FOR THE BAGGIES

WEST Brom’s new sporting and technical director Luke Dowling wants to help the club rediscover “the West Brom way”.

Dowling, who helped guide Watford back to the Premier League during a four-year spell at Vicarage Road, has moved to the Hawthorns from Nottingham Forest.

He is keen to get the Baggies back to the top flight, saying: “If you go back seven or eight years, Albion were looked at by other teams in the Championship and Premier League as the club to be replicated.

“Albion were ahead of the game. Outside the top four, as it was then, the remit was to work ‘the West Brom way’. That’s a big compliment and we want to try to get back to that as best we can.

“I want to help make it a really good environment for everyone to work – it’s an exciting opportunity and I’m delighted to be here.”

Dowling worked alongside current Baggies manager Darren Moore during a spell together at Blackburn Rovers and Moore is confident Dowling will be a positive influence on the club.

“He will be a significant help in giving us direction and he’ll bring bright, fresh new ideas,” Moore said. “Luke’s a perfect fit for where we are at this moment and I’m really looking forward to working alongside him again.”

Dowling added: “Darren is a thinker, he lives and breathes football. He’s a man players want to play for and staff want to work for.”