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Luke Dowling: West Brom have what it takes to bounce straight back

New recruitment chief Luke Dowling is confident the Baggies have what it takes to bounce straight back up this season.

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Luke Dowling. Photo: WBA/AMA

Dowling has been appointed sporting and technical director just days before his 40th birthday, joining the Baggies from Nottingham Forest.

Although recruitment will be the main focus of his job, his remit also includes the progress of the academy as well at the sport science and medical department.

But he’s impressed with what he’s inherited, and believes head coach Darren Moore can take Albion straight back to the Premier League.

“The answer to that is obviously yes,” he said. “I’d suggest the squad is more than strong enough and the person leading them is more than strong enough as well.

“The club have had a really good summer window, people might say we only signed Sam Johnstone and got Dwight Gayle in on loan and a couple of others in on loan.

“A good window doesn’t necessarily mean who you sign, it’s about keeping players too.

“We’ve kept players who are regular Premier League players, player who supporters and other clubs thought would leave.

“We’ve lost Ben Foster but replaced him with Sam Johnstone, we lost Salomon Rondon but replaced him with Dwight Gayle, Harvey Barnes and Wes Hoolahan have come in.

“The players that have come in know the league and know the league above.

“I’ve joined when there’s no transfer window open.

"We’ll look towards the January window in terms of what we feel we need to strengthen. I’ll be supporting Darren as much as I can.

“I’ll look at the scouting department, give them some ideas, I’m sure they’ll give me some ideas as well.

“The sport science and medical department is very strong here and the academy is too.

“I was at the Mansfield game when there were three or four (academy graduates) playing. There are some good ones coming through.”

Dowling helped Watford win promotion to the Premier League during a three-year stint as the Hornets sporting director.

“The year we got promoted, we made sure the club was ready to get into the Premier League not just on the football side but away from it,” he said.

“We all know the infrastructure here is ready for it, it’s just about whether the players can get us there either this season or next season. This is a Premier League football club.”

Dowling and Moore already enjoy a working relationship, having both been at Blackburn Rovers five years ago.

“We had a very short spell with Michael Appleton at Blackburn," explained Dowling. "It lasted three months there under the Venkys.

"We got to know each other a bit better then and since then we’ve kept in contact a little bit. When West Brom played Watford we’d see each other.

"I know the way he wants to work, with the results so far, I think he’s shown people how capable he is.

"He’s a thinker. He lives and sleeps football. I saw how he worked as a first team coach, how hard he worked then. So it doesn’t surprise me (how well he's started.

"He’s very good at what he does, he’s a likeable person and the sort of manager players want to play for, he’s the sort of manager staff would want to work for. That goes a long way in football these days.

"Put the tactical side of things into that as well, he’s played the game, his understanding, he knows the club inside out, been here as a player, in the academy, under 23s, and now manager.

"He knows the club so it’s a really good fit."