James Morrison has tactical ace sitting up his sleeve, West Brom squad have backed it up

James Morrison is preparing for his first full season in charge of West Bromwich Albion.

After guiding the Baggies to safety, the former midfielder has been trusted with the reins on a permanent basis.

This comes after an excellent run heading into the final day of last season - sealing a spot in the division.

The role is Morrison's first, with it only natural that his lack of experience comes into question.

But, he showed knowledge well beyond his years at the back end of last season, with his side comfortably sealing survival.

And based on the latest comments from defender Nat Phillips, Morrison may just have an ace up his sleeve ready to be deployed next term.

Nat Phillips drops exciting claim as West Brom prepare for new season

In truth, it can't get much worse than last season from an Albion perspective.

But after the horrid spells of Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay, the Black Country club do look to be settling down.

Speaking to Express & Star ahead of the new season, defender Phillips praised the impact of Morrison and his coaching staff, providing a hint on the tactical work being put in before next season.

"The gaffer has added two more staff members as well in Tony McMahon and also Gavin Strachan, who I knew from when I was at Celtic. They've slotted in seamlessly and brought a lot of energy to training," said Phillips.

"That's set the tone for how pre-season has been so far. Training has been intense, high energy and they've laid down their principles and how they want us to play early on - you can see that in the sessions we're doing.

"It's really exciting to put that into practice with a few games in pre-season," he added, suggesting that Albion may be set to go up another gear tactically next season.

What will James Morrison have in store ahead of first full season?

At the back end of last term, Morrison was lauded for his common sense approach.

After the failed projects of Mason and Ramsay, he arrived and simply put round pegs in round holes.

This worked to perfection, especially with getting the best out of the strikers in a 4-4-2 formation, alongside the magnificent partnership of Isaac Price and Callum Styles on the left.

The Baggies scored 48 times with an average possession stat of 51.6 per cent last term.

Moving forward, the goal will be to increase both of these numbers, seeing West Brom become a side dominant in possession, while carrying a goal threat.

Phillips has already hinted at this, mentioning an increase in intensity, alongside the different way of playing.

Based on Morrison's awareness, he would not push these changes unless they were ready to work, and it does sound as if Baggies fans can start to feel excited about potentially watching a free flowing side once again.