Pepe Mel wants West Brom assurances before resolving future
Pepe Mel today claimed Albion will need to match his ambition if he is to stay at The Hawthorns for next season.
The Baggies boss is gearing up for talks with chairman Jeremy Peace following Sunday's season finale against Stoke at The Hawthorns.
And the Spaniard said he does not want against fight against relegation next season after the club's top-flight status was effectively secured at the weekend with two games to spare.
"I need to listen to what the chairman has to say," said Mel.
"I want to know what he has in mind for the future of this club.
"I also want people to understand that I'm an ambitious person and I want to be able to make the arguments to take this club forward.
"What I want to do is carry on is by improving and if that means certain talks need to be had with certain players they will be had.
"If West Brom decide that it is me to carry on, those talks will need to be had.
"If I'm the West Brom manager next season everything will have to be done hand in hand, together.
"There's also a lot of uncertainty regarding the players so it is important that everyone knows who is boss."
Mel has overseen Albion's survival but question marks remain over his future after a succession of off-field problems including concerns from senior players over his methods.
He said: "I arrived here on January 14 and encountered many problems from the start.
"We had our best striker sold to Hull City and then the Nicolas Anelka situation.
"We've had a lot of situations that needed resolving and in spite of that we had a good April.
"We had to convince the dressing room that we all had to work hand in hand to go down a certain path and I'm very proud of my players, especially Graham Dorrans, Saido Berahino and Craig Dawson as they have been outstanding.
"With two games in hand to certify our safety means we have done very well.
"We've come a long way, we've drawn against Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton and won against West Ham, Norwich and Swansea."
Meanwhile, Zoltan Gera and Liam Ridgewell (both knee) have been ruled out for tomorrow's trip to Sunderland while Billy Jones (hamstring) and Steven Reid (groin) face fitness tests.
