West Bromwich Albion: 'We need a change around of the squad' says new MD Mark Miles
- Published
Mark Miles succeeded Ron Gourlay as chief executive in June
New West Bromwich Albion managing director Mark Miles expects a "change around of the squad" prior to the start of the Championship season on 5 August.
The £7m sale of skipper Dara O'Shea to Burnley has loosened the purse strings for Albion head coach Carlos Corberan, who is yet to make a summer signing.
"Clearly everyone can see that to be competitive next season we do need a change around of the squad," he said.
"That will involve players going out as well as players coming in."
Since missing out on the Championship play-offs in May by just four points, despite a frustrating season encapsulated by protesting fans, Albion have already lost four players.
As well as the departure of O'Shea, they released midfielder Tom Rogic and defender Kean Bryan, as well as former skipper Jake Livermore.
The Baggies are still to receive the return of the £5m loan from the club made to chairman Guochuan Lai - but the £7m they made from the sale of O'Shea, although short of his automatic £8m buy-out clause, has made things, in Miles' own words, "relatively stable".
He told BBC Radio WM: "Clearly the sale of O'Shea helps us.
"We can look forward a lot more. Any other players who go out, we make sure we get market price or better, like Dara.
"Carlos Corberan has a very clear vision of who he wants those players to be.
"In order to get that for him, there is a need for players to go. Carlos is fully engaged about who is going out. We are talking on a daily basis about targets."
Miles, an in-house appointment by Albion after two decades working at different levels of the club, was speaking at a press conference at The Hawthorns to address the local Midlands media for the first time since taking day-to-day charge when chief executive Ron Gourlay left in June.
But, with 29 days to go to the start of their third successive season in the Championship, and now without the comfort of Premier League parachute payments to fall back on, time is running out for Corberan's Baggies to be fully ready for the season opener at Blackburn.
Mark Miles was talking to BBC Radio WM's Rob Gurney.