Carlos Corberan grateful that Mark Miles has gone the extra West Brom mile

Corberan is excited to work with the new majority shareholders, with the club’s financial future secure after a period of huge uncertainty under Guochuan Lai.

But while the club’s off-field predicament was always in the background, Corberan claims his focus has only been on the pitch thanks to the burden carried by Miles and others during protracted takeover talks.

Asked if the successful completion of the sale had come as a relief, he replied: “I have to be honest, from the first day I have been doing what a coach needs to do, which is prepare for the games and prepare the squad based on the financial possibilities of the club.

“The job other people, especially the one Mark Miles has been doing, is to challenge the difficulties of the club.

“I have been completely out of that process. That is why I strongly appreciate what Mark has done, how hard he is working.

“He has allowed me to be completely focused on the football aspects and forget completely anything out of my control.”

Corberan is particularly happy at having retained so many key players despite the club’s prior financial situation. The Baggies sold Dara O’Shea to Burnley last summer but turned down offers for goalkeeper Alex Palmer and skipper Jed Wallace among others.

He added: “In every moment he has allowed me to distract myself. Every type of need, he has made his best to cover it, whatever we needed to help cover our job. That’s the thing I have found in this club – a lot of honesty from the first day, a lot of support and this is key too.”

The fifth-placed Baggies are five points and four spots above the Sky Blues in the table and Corberan is wary of opponents who have lost just three of their last 19 matches in all competitions.

New signing Yann M’Vila is edging closer to contention after being involved in his first full training session but won’t be involved. Brandon Thomas-Asante, Matt Phillips (both hamstring) and Josh Maja (ankle) remain out.

Asked if the takeover could provide his players a boost for the season’s final stretch, Corberan replied: “What gives me extra is the commitment of the players.

“I have been watching the players giving their best from the first day of pre-season. That is why we are in the position we are. We need to keep doing that.

“The reason to find why you want to give your best is different for everyone. Some people it is a personal challenge, some do it for the fans and others want to be part of the club’s history and in 30 or 40 years time be remembered as someone who was important. “Others it is for their family or the love of football. Everyone needs to find their reason why and give their best every day.”