Express & Star

Steve Clarke happy to take a risk

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Steve Clarke began the task of readying West Bromwich Albion for more Premier League progress today happy to have removed the safety net under his career.

moreSteve Clarke began the task of readying West Bromwich Albion for more Premier League progress today happy to have removed the safety net under his career.

Clarke knows he still has to prove wrong the doubters concerned that he is succeeding Roy Hodgson without previous experience of the No. 1 position.

But the former Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool coach welcomed the players back on to the training pitches today confident in his ability to succeed in his top flight posting. The Baggies' new head coach claims he is ready for the Premier League challenge because it is "a league I know very well."

He said: "I've worked for a long time in the Premier League as a coach so I know the players and the teams, the systems and the way a lot of the managers play. You see some people retire from football and immediately offered a player-manager job and suddenly they are a manager.

"I chose a slightly different path as I wanted to become a good coach and then see what developed. Gradually, as I got more comfortable in the coaching role, I started thinking 'I wouldn't have done that' and started thinking a little bit more about how I would affect a team.

"I could still be sitting at Chelsea now as assistant to whoever the manager may have been. I wanted to take away the safety net."