No training let up for Albion stars

With the club in-between management regimes, the Baggies head of sports science Dan Harris has emerged as a key figure in ensuring Albion's players "hit the ground running" next week.

Hawthorns chief Jeremy Peace wants a new manager in position within a week to oversee pre-season preparations but Harris, head hunted from Birmingham City by former boss Mowbray, is warning the players that his team of fitness experts will not allow any slacking.

The Baggies begin their pre-season fixtures with a trip to Blue Square Premier side Histon on July 11, before they jet off to Slovenia for a week the following day to continue their preparations.

Harris said: "The lads have had programmes to follow while they've been away. But there will always be some boys that need more work than others and some that can probably play a game from day one.

"This is a good group of pros generally. They came back in reasonable shape last year and went through a fairly tough pre-season.

"We'll do the foundation work in the UK before our first pre-season game and then we fly out to Slovenia."

If all is going to Peace's schedule, the hunt for Mowbray's successor should see the Albion chairman today settling on the final names he wants to approach for the position.

Former Baggies skipper and promotion-winning St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes is a popular choice, while Peterborough's Darren Ferguson and Preston's Alan Irvine also remain high in the bookies ratings.

Out of work contenders led by Paul Ince and Aidy Boothroyd remain on the fringes at the moment.