Michael Appleton hopes for a long future at West Brom

Jul 7 2009 by Chris Lepkowski

“But I did take it as a compliment that other people were seeing what I could do, liked what I do and were recommending me for jobs.

“It’s no secret I spoke to different clubs at different stages but this club have been first class.

“They said they didn’t want to lose me, they’ve given me an opportunity to work with the first-team.

“When I wanted to stay in football the club gave me an oppiortunity to stay with the academy and I ended up doing my badges.

“Here I am now, I’ve done courses, I’ve done my pro-licence, my A licence, everything that’s out there I’ve done and thankfully I’ve been given the opportunity to show what I can do after working for four years as a coach.”

Appleton is looking forward to working with Albion’s new head coach Roberto Di Matteo, admitting he was not surprised by Tony Mowbray’s decision to join Celtic.

“Given the background he (Mowbray) had as a player with Celtic it must have been difficult to turn it down,” added Appleton.

“But the players are positive. I met Roberto last Tuesday and we’ll get to know each other a bit better over the coming weeks.

“I think I can be a help to them as regards players, the football club and what this club is about.

“He did well at MK Dons, had a fantastic season. With him being an Italian manager it will hopefully bring a big of charisma and something different to the club. I’m looking forward to working with him.”