Tony Mowbray on mission to develop young talent

Aug 29 2008 By Chris Lepkowski

NO matter what happens with Albion this season, Tony Mowbray still enjoys the buzz of nurturing young players.

The Baggies have a relatively young side, with Leon Barnett, Scott Carson, Gianni Zuiverloon, James Morrison, Chris Brunt, Borja Valero and Ishmael Miller all under 25 years old.

Mowbray knows that some of those players may go onto bigger and better things.

The Baggies boss has already seen some of his former players go onto better things.

The recent friendly between Scotland and Northern Ireland brought together a number of ex-Hibernian players, including Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Michael Stewart and current Albion stars Morrison and Brunt.

Mowbray admits that seeing the end product in action is something he enjoys.

He hopes to achieve something similar with his current crop of young players.

“It’s great to sit and watch them develop and mature as footballers and men,” said Mowbray.

“I remember Veno and I sat in the main stand on our first day at Hibs, watching a practice match.

“We looked at each other and thought ‘Christ we are going to get relegated, they were that bad’.

“Yet to see so many of them move onto better things is great for them.

“We managed to spark something in them which made them think about football.

“Footballers are young men and if you get carried away with being a footballer, rather than working hard, preparing your life, eating and drinking the right things, then you will diminish your chances.

“We ignited something in those players.

“We tried to push the right buttons, to stimulate them to do the right things.

“That’s what we tried to do with the likes of Brown, Thomson, Whittaker, Fletcher, O’Riordan, O’Connor, Caldwell, Sheilds, etc.

Hopefully they loved coming into training and wanting to get better.

“Now some of them are regulars on the international stage.”