Gera hints at sticking with Albion

Albion star Zoltan Gera has hinted that he will be part of the Baggies' Premier League return next season.

The Hungarian winger is out of contract this summer with speculation linking him to moves away from The Hawthorns.

But today the 29-year-old suggested he was 'on his way back' to the top flight with the Baggies in August.

"I have already sampled the Barclays Premier League with West Brom, so I need no reminding that I'm on my way back to the greatest club competition in the world," he said.

And Gera, who has been watched by the likes of Bolton and Wigan, paid tribute to manager Tony Mowbray, describing him as one of football's calmest men. And he praised Mowbray's half-time team talk during the 1-1 draw with Southampton that sealed promotion.

Gera said: "We had been flying since beating Wolves 1-0, but seeing the finishing line so close had an inhibiting effect.

"Southampton were desperate to stay up and the nerves were jangling throughout that first half.

"That is when the boss stepped in. 'Nothing to worry about,' he said. 'You have won so many games at home this season. One more, that's all. No need for any nerves.'

"He's the most calm football man I have known and his reassuring words did the trick."

Gera also praised the quality of the Championship, having helped the Baggies clinch their first title in 88 years.

"The Championship has to be the best second tier anywhere in the world by a distance. Back home in Hungary, they can't believe it when I say I've played at somewhere like Leicester, Bramall Lane or Molineux and the attendance was around 30,000.

"The second division there attracts crowds of a few hundred."