Megson has instant date with reality

Old Trafford will provide West Brom's discards with a quick clue to required quality

Gary Megson was on holiday in Venice when he heard the news. First match of the season: Manchester United, away. It is an indication of Megson's attitude to West Bromwich Albion's arrival in the Premiership, not to mention his facility with words, that the manager insists: "My reaction wasn't one of trepidation".

As the prospect of his team starting life at the very top sank in, down there by the Grand Canal and St Mark's Square, the word he reached for was "fantastic". With six days to go until Albion trot out at Old Trafford for their debut in the top flight, Megson's opinion has not changed. "If there is one game that shows the stark reality and the difference between where we were and where we are, that is it. Our last away game in the First Division was at Bradford; look at the problems they've got. Now we are playing the biggest club in the world. It's a brilliant fixture."

The Baggies soared out of the First Division with afterburners aglow, winning eight of their last 10 games and drawing the other two. So can they keep up the impetus? "The fact that we finished last season so strongly has no bearing whatsoever on this season, because the Premiership is almost a different sport to the Nationwide," he said. "That is why Premiership players are where they are, because it is the pinnacle. That is why our players have to see the importance of making the most of this opportunity."

Marking himself down as "a realist," Megson went on: "If I ask anybody what they think the score will be against United, I know the answer I'll get. Since the fact is that most clubs which come up go straight back down again, those same people are tipping us to finish rock bottom. You accept that attitude, but the beauty is that there are no expectations.

"We can't compare ourselves to anybody else because we didn't buy ourselves out of the division. Our wage bill last season was one of the lowest, more or less the same as it was the previous year, when we finished fourth from bottom. We didn't buy Premiership players for the First Division. Consequently, we have got a lot of hard-working, very honest, enthusiastic players with a great attitude who have proved themselves to be quite good in the First Division. Now they have to try and prove themselves in a higher division. We are not going to set targets, I've just told the players to do their best."

Endearingly, West Brom's website refers to the team as a bunch of "discards" and Megson was not inclined to disagree. "Most of us have arrived at West Brom through adversity somewhere else," he smiled. Not least himself, with not many trees uprooted in jobs at Norwich, Blackpool, Stockport and Stoke. Russell Hoult, the country's most successful goalkeeper last season, came from Portsmouth reserves, Neil Clement from Chelsea reserves, Andy Johnson from Forest reserves, Derek McInnes from Toulouse reserves and Danny Dichio from Sunderland reserves. And, he feels, "most have a point to prove".

There have been three signings during the summer: the young goalkeeper Joe Murphy from Tranmere, the £2.5m Sean Gregan from Preston and Ronnie Wallwork snapped up from Manchester United for free. Sir Alex Ferguson called Wallwork "the best Bosman available" and Megson concurred. "Getting a player of his stature for nothing is good business for this club." At 24, Wallwork had spent eight years since leaving school working to establish himself in the United side, but finally decided it was time to seek regular football at a new club.

It was not Manchester's high-priced foreigners who had denied Wallwork his chance, but the outstanding home-bred group a year or two ahead of him – Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt and the Nevilles. To play his first match for West Brom at Old Trafford is regarded by Wallwork as "a great incentive", and he added: "I'm really looking forward to that, and hopefully getting a result there. Gary Megson said we can go there and just try to cause a surprise." Megson may yet have a surprise to spring in the transfer market, claiming to be in pursuit of three more signings. But (here comes the realist again): "It will be done along the same lines as our other deals – good players for the right amount of money on wages that we can afford." He does not deny he is keen to recruit a striker, since West Brom got where they are today by defensive solidity rather than scoring flair.

An attempt to bring in John Carew from Valencia on loan foundered when the tall Norwegian turned them down. Megson acknowledged West Brom were not deemed a big enough club by Carew, but pointed out: "I'm sure other clubs are finding that as well. If you are mid-table in the Third Division and are prepared to pay £100,000 a week, you will be able to attract the right players. If you are top of the Premiership and only paying £200 a week you will struggle to get anybody.

"We are now seeing the consequences of clubs spending money they didn't have, but that won't happen here. We are saying there is an amount of money above which we are not prepared to pay. We want to be successful, but if we're not we want to be sure the West Brom supporters still have a club to follow next season."

The manager does not regard next Saturday's match as a head-to-head between Ferguson and Megson. "People like Sir Alex and Arsène Wenger are proven, fantastic. But I don't have the same resources as some others, so it's not a level playing field. I must be judged, not against the others, but by what I do with what I have."

Perhaps so, but what is beyond dispute is that Gary Megson's eye-opening touchline cabaret of words, gestures and gymnastics, serenaded by the supporters to the tune of "Winter Wonderland", is guaranteed to lift the Premiership to a new level of managerial involvement. Who knows, it might even help to get a result at Old Trafford.