Richard Garlick insists Pepe Mel is the right choice for West Brom
West Brom sporting and technical director Richard Garlick today played down claims new boss Pepe Mel is an unnecessary risk as the Spaniard geared up for his first game in charge.
Mel will take the helm for the first time tonight when the Baggies take on Everton at The Hawthorns in the Premier League.
And, despite the former Real Betis boss's lack of experience in English football, Garlick has defended the club's decision to appoint him as Steve Clarke's replacement.
"I think any appointment is risky," said Garlick. "But we did our due diligence, we met Pepe and interviewed him and we went through an extensive process.
"And what Pepe has got is Keith Downing and Dean Kiely, who have been here at the club for five or six years, and who know the players.
"I don't see it as a risk as such. I see it as somebody who will come in and be pragmatic."
Mel has promised Albion fans an early glimpse of his football philosophies, which are believed to be based around a pressing, high-intensity game similar to that of Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is a former student of the new Baggies boss.
But Garlick is expecting a gradual approach to change.
"He's not going to revolutionise it overnight," said Garlick. "He's going to take it a step at a time.
"He's got 14 years' experience as a head coach in Spain. He will come over and listen, and he has a very engaging manner.
"We've got experience in our coaches with Dean and Keith.
"We're stable and we have a good structure."
Mel arrived at Albion just over a month after being sacked by Real Betis, where his record over his last year in charge was comparable to the one that earned Clarke the boot at The Hawthorns.
But Garlick insisted the Baggies looked beyond statistics when making their decision, with the serious financial problems that forced the Spanish club to sell key players taken into account.
Garlick said: "It's been well documented why it didn't work out there.
"We've looked at someone whose track record has been good.
"He's got good experience and has a clear idea of how he wants to play and how he wants to get those methods across.
"And over the first few days the staff and players have been very receptive and very positive.
"There wasn't a concerted effort to go overseas as such. We had a clear idea of the sort of head coach we wanted and we extensively explored all European leagues.
"It made no difference whether they came from England, Scotland, Italy, France, Germany or wherever. It was about getting the right person."
