James Morrison's Calm Approach to West Brom's Squad Reshaping

James Morrison looks and sounds relaxed, but not complacent. On the eve of his first full season in charge of West Bromwich Albion, the head coach believes the club have done the hard yards early – and earned the right to wait.

“We’re in a good place,” he told BBC Radio WM, a phrase he returned to more than once. It didn’t feel like a throwaway line. It felt like a marker.

Six through the door, more to come – but only on his terms

West Brom have already brought in six new faces this summer as Morrison reshapes the squad in his own image. The groundwork is done. The temptation now, with the season about to spark into life, would be to rush the final pieces.

Morrison wants no part of that.

“As a club now we’ve got to be patient and find the right ones,” he said. Not the quickest deals. Not the loudest names. The right ones.

He knows what a good signing does to a fanbase, how a clever addition can lift a dressing room overnight. “Good players are always going to create that excitement. I want good players to arrive so they create that good feeling around the place and excitement for the fans.”

He is clearly pleased with the business so far. “We’ve done some good business, signed six players, we’re in a good place, I’m happy with everything’s going,” he said, before offering a glimpse into his own evolution as a manager.

“I understand the market, I’ve understood myself – I’m not trying to get to want, want, want – I’m thinking about the bigger picture.”

The impatience of a young coach chasing names has been replaced by a more measured approach. The window is a marathon, not a sprint, and Morrison is pacing it.

Building trust behind the scenes

Behind that calm exterior sits a key relationship. Morrison has been working closely with head of football operations Ian Pearce, and that partnership is starting to define West Brom’s recruitment.

“It’s about working relationships, different opinions, identifying what type of players we need, so I’ve been really happy with the way we’ve been working,” Morrison said.

Different views, shared direction. The head coach sets the profile, Pearce helps find the players, and the club move only when the fit is right.

The latest example is Norway midfielder Felix Horn Myhre, a signing that didn’t appear from nowhere. This was not a panic buy.

“I picked him out. I liked the way he moved, the way he was with the ball, the way he got forward,” Morrison explained. “He’s been on our radar for quite a long time. He’s used to playing games with Europe and internationally, so he’s well equipped and will fit in really well.”

This is the model Morrison wants: identified early, tracked properly, signed when the moment suits West Brom, not the market.

Cup first, then the real test

The new campaign starts with a trip to Rotherham in the Carabao Cup on Saturday, a competitive curtain-raiser before the Championship grind begins a week later. It will offer a first glimpse of how those six signings mesh with the existing core, how Morrison’s ideas look over 90 minutes rather than in training clips.

He insists the club will stay patient in the final weeks of the window. The message is clear: the rush is for others. West Brom, under Morrison, intend to move only when the next piece genuinely improves them.

The squad is not finished. The season certainly isn’t shaped. But as the first ball of the campaign is about to be kicked, Morrison believes West Brom are exactly where they need to be – calm, prepared, and waiting for the right moment to strike again.