Carlos Corberan: West Bromwich Albion boss is the 'top coach' we needed, says Ron Gourlay
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New West Brom boss Carlos Corberan was out on the training pitch on his first day in charge
West Bromwich Albion chief executive Ron Gourlay is convinced he has got the right man in new boss Carlos Corberan - but he says the Baggies head coach must be shown patience by the fans.
The Spaniard became Albion's fifth boss in under two years when he succeeded Steve Bruce this week.
But after bowing to fan pressure to sack Bruce and predecessor Val Ismael, the Albion board have pleaded for time.
"I've got a top coach now. But we have to give him our support," said Gourlay.
"We cannot keep changing managers. It has to stop.
"I take responsibility. I said that there were challenges at the football club and that it was going to take time to sort things and I can hopefully do that now we have Carlos on board."
The 39-year-old Corberan has come in at a time when Albion are 23rd in the Championship, three points adrift of safety - the lowest the club have been in 21 years.
It is a challenging time to take on a new job.
Corberan will still be without two of his injured prize assets, £7m striker Daryl Dike and key defender Semi Ajayi. And, after Saturday's home game with Sheffield United, he will have just three more matches to make his mark before the Championship season takes a break for the Qatar World Cup until mid December.
By then, Corberan will know just how many changes he might have to consider making when the January transfer window opens, hopefully to be funded by the repayment of a near £5m loan made from the club to Chinese owner Lai Guochuan in March 2021.
The loan, originally due to be paid back in September 2022, is expected to be paid back before Christmas.
"It's something I did not know about until I came here," said Gourlay. "I had to pick it up and go with it. And I have had made it very clear to me that the money will come back by that date - and I have to believe that will happen,
"If Carlos needs to make changes then we have to support him. That could be with funds made available to him but it could also mean some players might have to go. It depends on what Carlos thinks - and we have to support him."
But Corberan, in the role of head coach that Albion dispensed with when Bruce was appointed their first 'manager' in 12 years in February, says that he is concerned only with what he has at his disposal right here, right now - and that Albion do have the existing players to help them climb the table.
"I know the players," said Coreberan. "I have watched every game. That was one of the things that attracted me to this club.
"My focus is to simply to attack better, and defend better, give the players confidence and make us more competitive. That is now my challenge. That is now my life.
"Being more competitive gives us a greater chance of winning matches.
"The key thing is being in the present. If you're living in the past, or living in the future it's never going to work."
Ron Gourlay was appointed as West Brom chief executive in February, the day before the Baggies announced Steve Bruce as their new boss
But, as Albion fans prepare for life under their ninth boss in six years under the Lai regime, now in their second season since their most recent relegation from the Premier League, Gourlay is adamant that this time they have got it right.
"We had an amazing amount apply for the job," said Gourlay. "But, right from the start, his passion and energy shone through.
"He was on our radar right from the start of the process - and he became the outstanding candidate."
Gourlay knows that it took Corberan two seasons to turn Huddersfield round following relegation into genuine promotion challengers, missing out on a return to the top flight at Wembley against Nottingham Forest in May.
But, after a brief managerial failure at Olympiakos lasting just 49 days - and only two wins in 11 games - Gourlay has great faith in the Spaniard.
"The one thing we need at this club is stability," he told BBC WM. "We have had an instability brought about by changing managers too regularly - and the imbalance in the squad that causes.
"Not until we get that stability can we start to move forward.
"There has to come a time when you have the belief in your coach to do that.
"I've been around a long time - and the one thing you don't get in football is time. It's all determined by results. But I do have that belief in Carlos."
Corberan's Baggies backroom team
Having kept long-serving Baggies favourite James Morrison as first-team coach and goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh as part of the Albion backroom team, Corberan has also brought in two of his own men.
Jorge Alarcon, 37, worked with Corberan both at Huddersfield Town and during his short stay this summer at Olympiakos.
And former Barcelona youth coach Monroy, 40, worked alongside Corberan when he was under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United.
Carlos Corberan and Ron Gourlay were talking to BBC Radio WM's Rob Gurney