New West Brom boss Alan Pardew all geared up after time away

The 56-year-old has spent his 11 months out of football broadening his horizons in other sports like rugby union and Formula One.

And he believes that experience will serve him well as he begins his assault on the Baggies job today.

"I'm not going to sit here and say I haven't made mistakes," said Pardew. "I have. And I like to think that I've learned from those.

"It's about how you go forward, picking up different things from different organisations.

"Formula One, I'm a big fan of, English rugby, I'm a big fan of, and they're areas I've looked at.

"Sports science is another that I've looked at to make sure that when I go back into the Premier League that I do that better.

"In Formula One, I have been a guest of Force India, and also Marussia who now unfortunately have gone.

"That industry is not unlike the Premier League. You go from one week to the next, one race to the next. If you don’t develop the car you will fall behind. These margins is something we have always worked on.

"It is about making sure when we enter the building on Saturday we are trying to cover all of that.

"Have we taken the team forward? Have we introduced something new?

"Have we sparked something in the side? Looking at other industries, there are some interesting parallels."

Pardew has also visited businesses outside of the sporting sphere to get a fresh approach to management as a whole, and concluded that everyone at the training ground – not just the coaching and playing staff – needed to be focused on Saturday.

“I have a couple of friends who run businesses," he said. “It is interesting to see how they work and how they organise themselves.

"Sometimes you are surprised by the level of management.

"I have to make sure I manage this training ground as well so that everyone here feels part of it and feels they can add to us on a Saturday.

"That sometimes gets missed but Alex Ferguson was brilliant at that – getting a whole training ground geared to Man United winning. I spoke to all the staff (at WBA) and told them the culture I want to see going forward and the disciplines I like around the training ground.

"And things I think are important in any organisation – timekeeping, cleanliness, stuff like that. We've had those discussions and I hope they're seen through."

All of this attention to detail is geared to giving Pardew an immediate reaction on the pitch.

But even though the league form is the immediate concern, the 56-year-old has a rich history in the FA Cup having reached the final as both a player and a manager with Crystal Palace, and he's already got half an eye on a deep Cup run with the Baggies.

"It's so difficult to win trophies because you now have six or seven clubs that are way above the level we're working at and they're all competing for every one," he said.

"Even the League Cup has become dominated by the top clubs, it's very difficult to break into.

"We almost did it at Palace in the FA Cup. But as difficult as it is, you have to have those ambitions – to try and win a trophy if you can.

"That's the point I'm trying to make. I've come very close twice to winning the FA Cup and I'd like to do it. That's the sort of ambition I'm talking about."

And he’s already excited about the possibility of working with the team’s attacking players.

“I think we’ve got quality in a lot of areas, not just in wide areas,” he said. “I think the attacking part of this team needs a little bit of attention if I can just add something to that.

“It’s an area I’ve done well in in the past. (Yannick) Bolasie and (Wilfried) Zaha both excelled under me (at Crystal Palace) so in the attacking areas I like to think I can make a difference with coaching.

“Defensively this club has been strong for three years. At this moment they might not be as exact as they would like but I’m not going to doubt that.”

Assistant head coach Mark O’Connor has left the club alongside Gary Megson, although goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould has stayed on.

No decisions have been made over assistant head coach Ben Garner, who was banned from the training ground last week by Megson, or first-team coach Gerry Francis.

“It’s unfair for me to come in and completely change the staff,” said Pardew. “I will see what we have here. I might have a hidden gem.

“I haven’t really got to the bottom of what happened with Gary and Ben.”