We will fight Celtic to keep Tony Mowbray say West Brom

Jun 9 2009 by Chris Lepkowski

West Brom have promised to do all they can to keep hold of Tony Mowbray - telling Celtic that they will need to fork out £2million if they wish to entice him to Scotland.

Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace confirmed yesterday afternoon that he had finally received an official approach to speak to the 45-year-old about their vacant managerial position.

But Peace made it clear that Mowbray was still part of the club’s long term plans and described the Bhoys’ move as ‘not welcome’.

While he revealed that Mowbray had a compensation clause in his contract, Peace also insisted that the stipulated figure, thought to be in the region of £2million, would not be open to negotiation.

And that settlement fee does not include assistant Mark Venus, who is on a one-year rolling contract, or first-team coach and ex-Celtic player Peter Grant, both of whom would also need to be bought out of their current deals if Mowbray wished to include them among his backroom staff.

Peace also claimed Mowbray would still have a future at The Hawthorns, if he failed to land the Celtic job or opted to turn it down.