West Brom appoint three new staff members as Bruce fleshes out his team
New West Brom manager Steve Bruce has already gone about appointing new faces in the coaching department at the club before his first game in charge.
Along with Valerien Ismael sacking last week, assistant manager Adam Murray was also relieved of his duties and Bruce has had to fill the voids left with his own team.
Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence have been brought in as more senior coaches while the boss has given a chance to his son Alex Bruce in his first coaching role.
“Steve Agnew is known throughout football to be a very, very, good right-hand man and a very good coach,” Bruce said, as quoted by the Express and Star.
“My son is young, hungry. He has taken all his badges and is desperate to do well. It’s a bit like when I took Stephen Clemence when he finished playing at 32.
“I always think if you’ve got a grey top you need a bit of youth around you. There is a little bit of difference in all of them.
“I’ve been with them all a long, long, time and they are all going to be vitally important.”
Building blocks
As good as professional football players are, they need guidance from coaches and Bruce has acted quickly to get his own team in place before a ball is kicked competitively.
It’s crucial for the Baggies that they put the foundations in place for success in the second half of this season having fallen out of automatic promotion contention.
Maybe there is a favour from Steve to Alex Bruce in there but knowing the true professionals they both are, it wouldn’t have happened had the required badges not been complete.
Agnew and Clemence are smart acquisitions too given the experience they both have working under Bruce and they will all know what they want to achieve in turning West Brom around.
It all starts on Wednesday as the Baggies head north to Sheffield United, desperately needing an upturn in form as Premier League hopes drift away from their reach.
In other West Brom news, our predicted XI for the game against the Blades suggests a new formation might be played.