Tony Mowbray makes West Brom admission ahead of Sunderland clash | OneFootball

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray has admitted that he still looks out for West Bromwich Albion’s results – more than a decade after leaving The Hawthorns.

Mowbray took charge of the Baggies in 2006 and enjoyed significant success in his three years at the helm.

In just his second job in permanent management, the former defender led a young Albion squad to promotion back to the Premier League via the Championship title and took them to the FA Cup semi-final.

He left to join Celtic in the summer of 2009 after the West Midlands club was relegated from the top flight and has had to watch from afar since.

Mowbray welcomes his former club to the Stadium of Light on Monday evening as the full Championship schedule resumes after the World Cup break and, speaking to Chronicle Live, he has admitted he still has a soft spot for the Baggies.

He said: “It’s a wonderful place, it’s a wonderful football environment. Apart from when they play Sunderland, I always look for West Brom’s results. I look for Middlesbrough, I look for certain teams and their results. West Brom are one of them and I hope to see that they are doing well.”

The 59-year-old has beaten West Brom just once in six attempts as a manager but adding to that tally could see Sunderland force their way into the play-off places.

Quiz: Have any of these 25 ex-West Brom players ever played for a London based team?

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Has former West Brom man Saido Berahino ever played for a London based team?

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The Verdict

Given the success he enjoyed at The Hawthorns and that his spell there was so early in his management career, it’s no surprise that Mowbray still has a soft spot for the Baggies.

Those were formative experiences for him as a coach and he’ll be looking to feed off some of them as he looks to take Sunderland back to the top flight.

The experienced coach will hope his former club come away with nothing on Monday, however, as his Black Cats go in search of a fourth win in five games.

It looks set to be a tough battle as Carlos Corberan has started to turn fortunes around at West Brom.