Albion's longest serving player Neil Clement has revealed how he hopes to maintain his fitness levels over the summer with a personal fitness plan to avoid any adverse injury effects. The defender has missed the last two pre-season campaigns after being sidelined with a troublesome knee but now plans to maintain his fitness whilst most footballers are enjoying the sunshine.
"I am going to go on holiday with my wife and children and enjoy that but I want to make sure I come back really fit by working hard over the summer," Clement said.
"The players are more athletic, stronger and quicker in the Premiership.
"Gone are the days when you could just have the summer off and think you would get fit in pre-season.
"That's even more true for me.
"I need to make sure I keep my knee right over the summer.
"This will be a good time to get it as strong as I possibly can without having to play football."
Despite making the staring XI for last season's opener at Burnley Clem had to wait until March before establishing himself under Tony Mowbray, and as he looks forward to his fourth top-flight campaign with the Baggies, aims to find the form which helped
"Last year I missed the whole of pre-season and trained six days before our opening match at
"I ended up starting that game due to the circumstances surrounding Curtis Davies.
"The manager threw me in and we both agreed afterwards that it was probably the wrong thing to have done.
"But when you care, you want to play.
"I'm looking forward to coming back this year for a proper pre-season.
"I didn't do one last year, or the year before that, because of my knee."
"I'll be looking for another pre-season like the one before the 'Great Escape'.
"That was the year I played my best football and we stayed up.
"That's definitely the most consistent I've ever been so I'll be looking to play like that again."