Alex Mowatt ready for fresh start at West Brom

Mowatt, 28, spent last season on loan at Championship rivals Middlesbrough but ensured he stayed in touch on all things Albion under the Spaniard through colleague and close pal Townsend.

The former Leeds and Barnsley man was in and out of the north east outfit but made 28 league appearances in all, 11 starts, and finished the campaign well under rookie boss Michael Carrick as Boro made the play-offs.

Mowatt received the lowdown on Corberan, and the head coach's intense training style, from Townsend – though Corberan himself reached out to the former loan midfielder after just a few weeks in The Hawthorns hotseat.

"Oh yeah of course!" Mowatt smiled when asked if he was keeping tabs. "I was battering Conor with messages.

"I was asking 'what's the gaffer like?' 'Do you think he will like me?' Things like that – that's what you do!

"I spoke with the gaffer here in November, he rang me. It was a long call, 20 minutes just speaking about football, he knows everything about football, every loan I've been on.

"He came through at Leeds and so did I, we were talking about Leeds a bit, and Barnsley, and when Boro played West Brom (in February) he called me in the office and we spoke for 10 or 15 minutes, I've had good talks with the gaffer.

"I was always asking Conor what was training like, so I got a good insight what it's like."

The midfielder was well aware of the Spaniard's reputation through former team-mates at Leeds, though the duo's paths never crossed in the Elland Road youth set-up.

"I'd left before he got there, but some of my mates played in the under-21s with the gaffer, so I've grilled all them as well asking what he was like up there," added Mowatt.

"Obviously it's different now he's a first-team coach, but everybody speaks highly of him."

Mowatt caught the eye with a promising first-half display in Tuesday's friendly defeat at Cheltenham, the first back in front of supporters.

"It's a fresh start for me," he said. "A totally different manager, totally different staff, it's about me trying to impress and working hard, also learning what the gaffer wants and trying to do it on the pitch."