West Brom boss backs decision made by Simon Cox

Jul 9 2009 By Chris Lepkowski

ROBERTO Di Matteo is confident Simon Cox's decision to opt for West Brom and reject Premier League clubs will be justified.

The 22-year-old striker was finally confirmed as an Albion player yesterday - some 24 hours after it was first revealed by the Birmingham Mail - in a deal worth £1.9million.

Albion will pay Swindon an initial £1.5million for the player, with a further £400,000 due in various performance related clauses.

The Reading-born marksman, scorer of 32 goals last season, has signed a two year deal with a further 24 months in Albion's favour.

Di Matteo was thrilled with what is effectively his first signing as Albion head coach, even though the club's initial offer came before his arrival.

He claimed that the player has been courted by unnamed top flight clubs, but was right to choose Albion.

"Simon is an exciting, young talent with bags of ambition, hunger and determination," said Di Matteo of Cox, who was unveiled at Albion's training ground this morning.

"He has a very good goalscoring record and I think he will be a great asset for our team next season.

"I've seen him many times and he has the ability to do well in the Championship.

"He had a lot of interest from other clubs, including one or two Premier League clubs, and we are very happy that he has signed for us."

Meanwhile, Albion's fixture schedule has been disrupted yet again after the trip to Preston North End was moved.

The Baggies visit to Deepdale has been brought forward for live TV screening and will now kick-off at 12.45pm.

Albion's first two home games of the season - against Newcastle on August 8 (ko 5.30pm) and Ipswich on August 22 (ko 5.20pm) - will also be shown live.

The Carling Cup first-round trip to League Two outfit Bury on August 11 (ko 7.45pm) will be screened live.