James Morrison is going home on Saturday – and he won’t have to take his washing with him.

Morrison admits that since moving to Birmingham following his transfer to Albion in August last year, he had to grow up fast.

The 22-year-old Baggies midfielder had to be torn away from his native Teesside where “me mum did everything for me” following Middlesbrough’s decision to accept Albion’s £1.5m plus add-ons offer for him.

Schooled in the Middlesbrough Academy and surrounded by family and friends, it was a huge wrench for the then 21-year-old to leave behind the protective arm of his home town.

“Yes, it was a difficult move for me,” Morrison admits. “I wanted to move to play more football but my friends and family are up there and I’m very close to them. It was a difficult move coming here and being on my own.

“My mum does everything for me but being away has helped me and I’ve grown up. I can even use the washer now!

“I got an apartment straight away and now I’ve got a house in Sutton Coldfield. It’s always nice when the family come down and watch the games and it’s always special when I go home.

“I try to cook – but I’ve moved my girlfriend in now and she tends to do it.

“But I feel I’ve come on as a player and as a person now. One of my aims when I came here was to become a better person and I think the people here and the manager have helped me.

“The manager trusts me and that helps when you go out onto the pitch. At Middlesbrough that didn’t happen.” His Middlesbrough exit wrankles more than angers him. His home-town club, Morrison always relished the idea of starring for the Riverside outfit and was miffed when they instead felt Albion’s offer was too good to turn down.

Boro knew they were taking a chance on his sale. Appearances can take the fee to £2m in the long run and they were smart enough to write in a 15 per cent sell on clause in an acknowledgement that here was a player who could blossom into something special.

And that is starting to happen now. With the long-awaited return to the Riverside just days away, Morrison is in the form of his still youthful career, scoring in successive matches and providing real dash and cut from a wide midfield patrol.

“I’ve raised my game because the league is better and everyone has to do that,” he says. “We’re going to have to get the best out of everyone if we want to achieve what we want.”

“I’ve had a good pre-season and I think I’ve carried that form into the league programme. I feel really fit.

“Last season I think I had a few good performances and felt confident. I think I’ve brought that confidence into this league and I realise from my experience of being in the Premier League before what I need to do more of.

“I played most games last season but we had such a good midfield sometimes you had to sit on the bench and get behind the team.

“The gaffer wants you to be supportive of the team if you’re not playing and I think that helps he team.

“The dressing room is always buzzing here and that’s one of the good things we have.

“No disrespect to the Champioship but last year I didn’t have butterflies when I went out to play. This year, the games are just massive and I’m getting butterflies and it’s always good to get them.

“I’ve heard sometimes when people go back to their old clubs they try too hard. I’ll try not to get too wound up. I’m just going to try and enjoy it.”

He will stop for the weekend to spend some time with his old pals and at his old haunts before returning to life with the Baggies. But there will, thankfully, be no clash of loyalties if he figures in an away victory.

“Strangely enough, my family are all Newcastle fans so there’s no worries about who they will be wanting to win,” he says.

“How many tickets do I want? How many can I get!  Everyone wants to come who is close to me.

It’s going to be weird.

“My mates are there who I grew up with in the youth team – hopefully I don’t pass them the ball too many times.

“I’ve been speaking to them a lot this week, having banter and telling them I’m coming for them. I’m close to Andy Taylor, Adam Johnson, Ross Tunrnball and David Wheater.

“And I’ll be stopping up there on Saturday night when we will all get together again and go for a quiet drink. 

“I just hope it goes well. We’ve done really well with the ball but I think we’ve just been lacking in both boxes and that’s what counts.

“If you’re not concentrating in both boxes you get punished in this league. There’s been talk of 4-4-2 but if you look at our team I think our strength is the midfield at the moment.

“But if we keep believing in the way we’re playing that will help us start getting wins. It’s difficult in this league but we’ve got four points on the board and if we go and win at Middlesbrough the last result will be forgotten about.”