Mowbray won't be held to contract ransom

Albion boss Tony Mowbray has told out-of-contract trio Kevin Phillips, Zoltan Gera and Martin Albrechtsen that no improved deals will be offered alongside those already on the table. All three players have been offered new deals by the club, and while Mowbray would welcome the trio back in to his squad, would now prefer a decision sooner rather than later to plan for next season's assault on the Premiership.

Gera's and Albrechtsen's agents have both freely told the media about the interest from other clubs both in England and across Europe with QPR reportedly offering Phillips one final pay day. However Mowbray insists Albion will not break their wage structure to keep the trio after the witnessing the same scenario at Ipswich the season they were relegated after qualifying for the UEFA Cup the year before.

"We are not in the business of players going out and checking the rest of the world, then coming back with their best offer asking us to try to beat it. We don't operate like that," Mowbray insisted.

"It should never be about money for me. They know where we are as a club and they will be offered the best contracts this club can offer. If they want to ply their trade elsewhere for more money, then good luck to them.

"The squad is what everybody has got to respect. I respect the squad and we will not be 'busting the bank' for any single player. Their agents know that and if they want to hawk them around and get a better price and salary package, we won't be budging.

"We won't be breaking structures and it is that simple, because I want to be fair to the squad and the other players. If they get better packages that are out of our ball park, then good luck to them."