West Brom boss Tony Mowbray admits he'd love to work with some of Portsmouth's top players.

After their 2-2 draw, Mowbray said: "My job is to get the best out of the players we have available without putting the club in jeopardy long-term.

"It's all about the quality you can buy. But there is a balance between having better players on the pitch and having a huge debt.

"Yes, I would have had Crouch, James, Distin or Johnson if I could have afforded them.

"But the fact is Pompey won the FA Cup last year and still had annual losses of £16.6million.

"That would suggest they pay Premier League salaries and buy players of Premier League quality.

"At West Brom, we carry no debt whatsoever. So if we do go back into the Championship next season, we will not need to sell any players.

"We can keep these guys who have competed well against a strong Portsmouth team and we'll be strong against all the teams in the Championship."