West Bromwich Albion chief Dan Ashworth insists the appointment of Steve Clarke is no gamble.

Although it is his first-ever crack at being a boss, he has no doubts Clarke will deliver for the club after taking over the reins from Roy Hodgson.

"When you bring any human being into a new industry or a new place it's a gamble," said Ashworth to the Albion website.

"When Chelsea signed Fernando Torres from Liverpool as a proven Premier League player it didn't work with them for 18 months.

"All of us were sitting there thinking is Torres a gamble, no.

"But he's proof that it hasn't worked. Any player or member of staff is a human and there's an element of risk in everything.

"But because of his experience, knowledge, the people he has worked with, no, I don't see it as a gamble."