New West Brom signing Curtis Davies has vowed to repay the faith of manager Bryan Robson as he looks forward to the challenge of Premiership football. The 20-year-old had attracted a host of interest from top flight clubs, but only Albion were prepared to match Luton's £3 million asking price on transfer deadline day. After lengthy negotiations between Davies' representatives from the PFA and officials at the Hawthorns, the move was finally given the green light just four minutes before the deadline. Robson says he is delighted with his latest capture and has already likened the former Hatters defender to legendary Republic of Ireland international Paul McGrath – high praise indeed. Givemefootball's Mark Shail is the man with the questions.
Q:YOU MUST BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW CHALLENGE?
A:I just want to crack on now. The move did come as a bit of a shock as I didn't find out that anyone had met Luton's asking price until the afternoon of the deadline day. It all happened a bit quickly but I'm glad in went through. There were a few teams interested but only West Brom were willing to meet the price and that shows they have great confidence in me. Hopefully I can go on to repay their faith.
Q:IS IT TRUE THAT THE MOVE NEARLY COLLAPSED AT ONE POINT?
A:At one stage it looked like it was going to fall through because my representatives from the PFA felt the initial contract offer from West Brom wasn't in line with the fee that they were prepared to pay for me. In fact, I was back in the car and on my way home but Bryan Robson phone up and we went back to the club and managed to sort out the deal just before the deadline. I must say I was delighted with the way the PFA handled the negotiations.
Q:HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT TO LEAVE LUTON?
A:It was difficult because a lot of the players have grown up together through the youth team, but I think they all understood that this opportunity was too good to turn down. Mike Newell has been a big influence on me coming to West Brom and he has given me a lot of advice on what he thinks is best for me. He told me that, after talking to Bryan Robson, he felt I had a decent chance of breaking into the first team at the Hawthorns.
Q:HOW DO YOU THINK YOU WILL HANDLE THE STEP UP TO PREMIERSHIP FOOTBALL?
A:I think I will be okay – the fact that I'm playing with better players should help me adapt. At the end of the day, I'm confident in my own ability and have managed to cope with every step up I have had in my career so far.
Q:BRYAN ROBSON HAS LIKENED YOU TO PAUL McGRATH, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
A:It's nice to hear things like that because the likes of Paul McGrath and Rio Ferdinand are the kind of players I really look up to. But you can't really compare me to those kinds of players because I've yet to prove myself at the highest level. I suppose I would like to be recognised as a good player in my own right rather than a Paul McGrath want-to-be.
Q:WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF YOU BEING IN THE SIDE AGAINST WIGAN TOMORROW?
A:Bryan Robson and Nigel Pearson have told me that I've got a good chance of being in the squad, but I don't know if I'll be in the starting line-up – we'll have to wait and see. What ever happens, I'm ready and looking forward to the challenge.
