Gary Megson's passion for management rekindled at West Brom

The 58-year-old hasn’t managed for five years, but in the early days he came close on several occasions before the opportunities were strangely ripped from his grasp.

So then he stopped going to games and got used to a luxurious lifestyle, but this week on the Albion training ground has relit the fire in his belly.

“This has reminded me of what I’ve been missing,” he said. “Being alongside Dessy (Mark O’Connor) and (Jonathan) Gouldy and having a laugh and a joke and all those things I really enjoy.”

Megson is not using today’s game with Tottenham as an audition for the Albion job, but he would like to get back into management.

He found it uncomfortable being a No.2 and doesn’t want to stay on as an assistant when the new head coach comes in.

But when he was asked if he now wanted to get back into the hot-seat, he said: “I would have done anyway but it wasn’t happening.

“I’ve agreed three jobs on a certain day, and it was withdrawn the day after in two instances, and three days later in another instance. Make of that what you will.”

When he was asked if he thought someone was deliberately sabotaging him, he said: “You could say that, I couldn’t possibly comment.

“But you go into these jobs, then you see who gets it instead and you think ¬- his record is not as good.

Megson added: “In my first year on gardening leave at Sheffield Wednesday - and that should be banned - I must have gone to between 40 and 50 games and the season after I went to more because I could apply for jobs.

“It then became apparent to me that I wasn’t getting anywhere and people were getting jobs without my record, not even close to it.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant but in terms of finance I don’t particularly need to work.

“I would like to work but I just stopped doing it and thought ‘if anybody wants me they know where I am’.

“I would watch hundreds of games on the TV but I didn’t traipse all over the country trying to be seen in the right places.”

But the 58-year-old is relishing being back in the thick of the action.

“I get up at 4.45 in a morning and I’m here first,” he said. “Myself, Gouldy and Dessy are here at 6.50 in the morning and we do our work. We work hard and we have a good time as well."

Megson has a strong rapport with the Albion fans after guiding them to the Premier League for the first time in 2002.

He’s hoping his relationship with the supporters will lift the mood at Wembley this weekend, and he’s apologised for not recognising the fans at previous game when Tony Pulis was head coach.

“It’s one of the things I have found really difficult since I came back,” he said.

“Because of my association with West Brom, we had a great rapport and I really enjoyed that.

“When I came back with them at times singing my name and asking me to give them a wave, but I wasn’t the manager.

“I didn’t want to be rude but I didn’t also want to take anything away from Tony so if anybody has ever got the impression that I’ve blanked them or been rude to them and not acknowledged what they’re doing then I apologise for that but it was purely and simply that I didn’t want to take away anything from Tony.

“We were walking up the touchline at Accrington and they were all singing my name and asking me to give them a wave.

“I just kept going and thought it wasn’t right with Tony next to me. He just said ‘Gaz, for f*** sake, just turn round and wave’.

“It put me in a position where I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t want to be disrespectful to Tony but I hope any relationship I’ve got with supporters will carry on anyway from what we went through together quite a few years ago.”