West Brom boss James Shan keen to pick brains of his coaches
Jimmy Shan has been pleased with the balance of his new coaching team as he prepares for the two biggest games of his fledgling managerial career.
Albion’s caretaker boss, who has only taken charge of 10 senior games, recruited Steven Reid and Michael Appleton specifically to help him with the play-offs.
Reid, a former Albion defender, only retired from playing in 2015 and was a Hawthorns team-mate of Chris Brunt, James Morrison, Craig Dawson and Boaz Myhill.
Appleton has taken charge of more than 250 games as a manager with four separate clubs.
Shan has also temporarily promoted under-23s boss Jamie Smith to senior duties to help him with training, and he believes his trio all have different strings to their bows.
“Steven’s coming into it as a coach of three to four years and he’s worked with some incredible managers,” said Shan.
“He’ll look at it from a coaching perspective that puts him in the role of a player. There’s definitely been a benefit there.
“Appy’s taken 250 games, so if he can’t advise me, something’s wrong. He’s worked with other coaches at Leicester, there are things you can pick from other people who do things differently.”
And Shan says he will be open to new ideas, particularly during the game, when problems need to be solved.
“If you’re going to keep up with the times and improve you need a growth mindset,” he said.
“I’ve never had an ego and thought ‘that’s my opinion, that’s right, I’ll stick with that’.
“I’ve got a strong personality trait, if that’s my decision we’ll go with it, but I’ve never been dismissive of any information coming my way that could improve the players and myself. Appy’s contributed positively.”
Although Albion have adopted a more pragmatic style under Shan, they have also moved the ball forward quickly to their strikers.
The caretaker has also preferred an attack-minded midfield, with his first choices Chris Brunt, Stefan Johansen and Rekeem Harper all forward-thinking players.
“We’ve got a genuine threat in the final third and high quality in that area of the pitch,” he said. “When you have that it’s very important to capitalise and utilise that and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
