Former West Brom midfielder reveals biggest factor that will decide whether Albion have successful Championship season
Albion are set to kick off their fifth Championship campaign on the bounce next week - as Blackburn head to The Hawthorns.
On only one occasion in the last four years have Albion reached the play-offs, back in the 2023/2024 campaign.
They reached the end of season shoot-out and were beaten over two legs by Southampton.
They have been in and around the mix for the play-offs in every campaign - and that will no doubt by the aim again moving into the new seasons.
However, a former Baggies midfielder believes how Albion come out of the transfer window could have a big say in how successful they are this season.
Gareth Barry, who signed for Albion in the Premier League before departing after a campaign in the Championship, told Gambling.com: “Yeah it is such a tough league, [Championship] a new manager [Ryan Mason] coming in, working out the club but again it's for me it's all about the transfers, can the players come in and compete with the clubs coming down.
"There seems to be a yo-yo effect, you need to compete with them straight away, can you get above them, can you can you reach those Premier League clubs that come down and put in a good season, so it's not going to be easy for West Brom, they seem to be there or there abouts every year and I'm sure that the fans will be starting to get frustrated because they'll start to miss the Premier League football.
“I expect another tough season being there or there abouts for West Brom and they need some magic for some players coming in.”
Heading into the campaign, Albion players continue to praise Ryan Mason for his impact at The Hawthorns.
On the back of Alex Mowatt outlining how impressed he was with the new Albion head coach, Callum Styles has also weighed in with compliments for Mason.
And Barry has explained how former players who have seen Mason in action have also been impressed.
He added: "It's always a bold move when a club appoints a manager [Ryan Mason] that's relatively inexperienced. It's good to see young managers coming in and given an opportunity, as long as he gets the backing I'm sure he can do a great job.
"I'm still friends with a couple of the lads that's still involved on the coaching scenes and they're very impressed with what he's done so far, pre-season's been good for them so let's hope that they can start the season well too.”
