Pallister backing for Great Escape II

Establishing Albion in the Premier League might be the toughest assignment of Mowbray's 30 years in football.

But don't try telling Pallister that his friend and one-time inspiration can't pull it off. Pallister stood shoulder to shoulder with Mowbray, as the Baggies manager led Middlesbrough from the brink of extinction to the top flight of English football.

So his latest rescue act at the Hawthorns should be pretty straightforward in comparison.

Pallister said: "Mogga inspires people. He had an old head on young shoulders. The rest of us were younger and dafter. Mogga was only 21 but he had intelligence beyond his years and he led us in the dressing room.

"First and foremost he inspired us on the pitch with his performances. He would put his head in places others wouldn't and there was never any doubt what it meant to him to pull on a Middlesbrough shirt."

Mowbray became captain of his hometown club in 1986 when Boro, fresh from relegation to the old Third Division, looked certain to go out of business.

The gates of Ayresome Park were padlocked shut by the liquidators, training was conducted in public parks and the club sold off any players who can raise a few quid, including Mowbray's friend, Peter Beagrie.

They were left with a team comprised of remnants of the asset-stripped squad and a new group of homegrown youngsters.

The team including Pallister, Stuart Ripley, Colin Cooper and goalkeeper Stephen Pears defied the odds with back-to-back promotions, as a consortium led by current chairman Steve Gibson got the club back on its financial feet.

As Pallister - who was the junior member of the young central defensive partnership that helped Boro climb from liquidation to the First Division with two promotions in two seasons - recalls, one man was at the vanguard of the extraordinary efforts.

He said: "Mogga was the leader of the pack. He was the one who rallied the troops on and off the pitch. He was the one who we all looked up to in the dressing room. He was our leader and he took to the role surprisingly easily for someone of his age.

"He was the one we would all have singled out as the most likely member of that team to go into management, because he had such huge respect from all of us. He led us out of liquidation and we took the club all the way to the top division.

"We got relegated the next year but we had some good times."

The friendships forged in adversity on Teeside remain strong today. Bruce Rioch, who managed the team through the dark days and inspired many of Mowbray's footballing beliefs, stays in contact with most of his former players.

Mowbray and Pallister stay in touch too, not that the 43-year-old recognises the serious face he sometimes sees discussing the Baggies on TV.

Pallister said: "I sometimes watch his interviews and I think 'that's not the Mogga that I know.' It sounds like a totally different person coming across on the TV screens, but I know there is a lighter side to him and he can be a funny man to be around.

"Tony never used to drink, so he would drive us around when we went on our nights out. But he never needed to a drink to have a laugh. Those days at Boro were special times.

"Things looked doomed for the club when we went into administration but we got together a group of hard-working, local lads and it just clicked.

"Mogga played a massive part in that."

Seventeen years after leaving Teeside, Mowbray is still leading footballers. Having led the Baggies into the Premier League, Mowbray has taken a typically bold approach to keeping them among the elite.

He is convinced his team can play their way to safety. His principles have the backing of his former Boro team-mate, who this month released an autobiography in which Mowbray figures heavily.

Pallister said: "The style of football his teams play doesn't surprise me. He is a man who sticks with his principles through thick and thin. When I see managers up and down the country they often say 'have a word with Tony, he has to go a bit more direct if he wants to stay up.'

"But he won't change and why should he? He hasn't got players to play any other way and the way he has done things has been successful at West Brom.

"They had a bad run earlier in the season but they have picked up some results in the last few weeks and have put themselves right back into the fight to stay up.

"Who's to say they can't stay up playing football? It's happened before."

But Pallister is less convinced about the Baggies' chances of beating United at the Hawthorns.

Despite the list of injured players at Old Trafford reaching double figures, Pallister - who played more than 400 times for United after almost 200 appearances for Boro - remains convinced Sir Alex Ferguson's men will defend their Premier League title.

He said: "I believe they will do it. I have always thought it would come down to United versus Chelsea and I stick by that. Liverpool have had a great season so far but the cracks are starting to appear and I don't believe they've the strength in depth.

"United have their injuries but they can still put out a very strong side tonight. And Tony has his injury problems too – probably even worse than United. These are games that teams like West Brom don't expect to win. Whatever they get from games against the top four is a bonus."