The last year suggests Jonathan Greening is the last man in the Albion squad who should worry about his place.
Yeut, when the Baggies head to the Emirates Stadium on August 16 to start their Premier League campaign, their captain will have sweaty palms and a knot in his stomach.
Despite leading his team out for every one of their 46 Championship matches in last season’s title triumph, Greening still fears he could be just one bad game from the axe.
With more new players set to arrive on the scene, the nerves are likely to get worse before they get better.
Greening has now opened up about the near-paranoia that he believes keeps him on top of his game.
He said: “There are always players trying to take your place. I certainly don’t take it for granted that I’m playing.
“I work hard and do all I can to make sure I’m in the gaffer’s thoughts come Saturday, even if I’ve played in all the previous games.
“I’ve been a regular for four years but I still get really nervous when he’s about to name the team.
“I don’t sleep well because I think I’m going to get dropped. I still think that and I’m 29. Even though I’m captain I still worry.
“When we played Derby in the play-off final I had 40 people coming down by coach from Scarborough.
“I was really thinking, ‘God, can you imagine if the gaffer drops me?’ It was the same for the FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth.
“There were 48 people travelling down, I’d spent £3,000 on tickets and couldn’t sleep the night before, because I was wondering if I’d get dropped.
“We all have bad games. I had one against Barnsley last season and I was convinced I’d be dropped the following week.
“I was so glad when I was named that I made sure I’d prove a point that I should be in the side. It had scared me into playing.”
The fear of losing out extended last season from his mere place in the team to cover the captain’s armband too.
Greening says he was stunned to be named skipper at the beginning of the campaign.
Despite becoming the first Albion captain in 88 years to lift a championship trophy, he still wonders every day whether manager Tony Mowbray will find a better man for the job.
He said: “I still can’t believe I was captain and lifted the trophy. Some of the younger lads call me skipper but I just laugh at it.
“I try and do the right things but I just get on with it. I have always felt that at some point I won’t get a contract.
“I remember having a few ‘sherbets’ after the QPR game on the final day of last season and thinking ‘I can’t believe it’.
“But if the gaffer goes out and signs someone who is more experienced, then I’ll have no qualms about that.”
For a player of such poise, Greening’s insecurity may seem a little puzzling. The former Manchester United and Middlesbrough man believes the battle he faced for his first break in professional football has shaped him forever.
The fears may drive Greening crazy at times but he still believes they drive him on to make the absolute best of his talents.
“Everyone wants to do well,” he says. “Since I was a lad I’ve been fighting to get into a team – whether it’s trying to get into a school team, the district or county team, trying to get a YT contract at York City or fighting to get into the team at York City.
“You’re always fighting for something. I just want to get into the team and stay in.”
Despite the curious insecurities, it seems inconceivable barring injury or illness that Greening will lose either his place or his armband before the season opener at the Emirates.
After spending much of his Albion career in the top flight shifting around midfield, Greening is relishing the chance to attack the division in the position he made his own last season in the heart of midfield.
He said: “I’ve played across midfield and spent one year playing alongside George Boateng at Middlesbrough, when I was in the centre of midfield and won player of the year.
“If someone gets injured then I know I can fill in eslewhere. I can play right across the midfield which is a good thing to have.”
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