Roy Hodgson is confident that the West Bromwich Albion squad he has assembled this campaign is the strongest the club has had for a while.
The Baggies managed an 11th-place finish last season after Hodgson took over from Roberto Di Matteo but the ex-Fulham and Liverpool boss feels that this term he has a better group of players with what he brought in during the summer, even though the West Midland outfit have recorded just five points from seven league outings.
"Of our signings this year, I believe (Craig) Dawson and (Billy) Jones will go on to be very big players for the club," he told the club's official website.
"(Shane ) Long is another one. (Gareth) McAuley and (Zoltan) Gera, who are older players, will also do well.
"I'm very happy with the squad.
"We are stronger, I think, on paper than we have been."
