Matt Phillips fitting straight in at West Brom

The £5 million winger was brought in from Queens Park Rangers three weeks ago but a couple of intense tours to Austria and Holland have eased his integration with the squad.

Gardner's been impressed with the 25-year-old both on and off the pitch. He says the pacy wideman is already in the thick of the action in the dressing room.

But he also reckons Phillips has the right mentality to fit into the way Baggies boss Tony Pulis sets up his team.

"Matty's brilliant," said Gardner. "He's come in and got straight in with the lads. It already feels like he's been here for a while really.

"You can see his quality on the pitch but he's willing to work hard as well, he's willing to dig deep, which is a good sign."

Albion's players pride themselves on their togetherness on the pitch and it's a trait epitomised by their ability to grind out wins when their backs are against the wall.

That style of football obviously breeds a strong bond between team-mates.

"To be fair we're all close, it's a close bunch," said Gardner.

"We're all having banter with each other and Matty's in the thick of it as well. He's come on board really well."

Gardner has already backed Albion to make a tilt at the top half this season because of the platform already at the club.

But assistant head coach Dave Kemp is preaching pragmatism.

Phillips is Albion's only signing of the summer so far, while plenty of other clubs in the Premier League continue to splash the cash.

"Manchester United have spent £300m (over past few years) and we have to play these teams," said Kemp. "You have to be realistic."

The big teams are always going to outspend Albion, but it's the ambitious spending of rivals like Bournemouth and Crystal Palace that has got fans worried.

Albion's first game of the season is at Selhurst Park against head coach Tony Pulis's old team.

Even though it's a cliché, Kemp says that's the only thing they are working towards.

The coaching staff are not setting targets this early.

"Right now we're thinking of playing Crystal Palace and trying to get three points," he said. "If you can't get three, we'll try to get one and that's how you build throughout the season.

"You don't want to get too far ahead of yourself.

"Just concentrate on the game in front of you and at the moment, it's Crystal Palace."