Who motivates the motivator? Carlos Corberan certainly didn't travel to West Bromwich Albion alone when he agreed to take up the job last October. Confident in his own abilities, Corberan still needs trusted confidants around him to bounce ideas off and to receive advice and recommendations from, on the training pitches, in the office and in the dug-out.

Slowly but surely, Corberan - who has the longest running contract of any staff member at the club - having been granted freedom to alter his back-room staff as he sees fit, has changed the appearance of the first-team coaching staff to his liking. Having inherited Gary Walsh and James Morrison, neither of those figures - although the latter remains at the club - are no longer involved in that particular environment.

Corberan initially brought with him Jorge Alarcon, who had worked with him previously at Huddersfield Town and who is his trusted assistant, while also upon arrival came Jaime Monroy - but he returned to Spain shortly after being appointed for personal reasons.

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In his place, shortly before Christmas last year, another man with Huddersfield links joined the ranks; former defender Michael Hefele, who had held an ambassadorial role at Town and was looking to branch out into coaching. Corberan by this stage had also turned to ex-Middlesbrough defender Damia Abella, who specialises in statistical analysis and who you'll see by Corberan's side on any given match-day.

Over the course of the summer, goalkeeping coach Walsh left Albion and he has been replaced by Marcos Abad, who worked with Corberan previously at Leeds United. Morrison, too, now has been shuffled out of the first-team picture to work with the academy and split his time between Albion and Scotland, where he works under former boss Steve Clarke.

The most recent 'addition', in a consultancy role, is that of Rafael Aranda; the Spaniard taught Corberan at the University of Valencia and specialises in sports science and reducing the risk of injury in elite sport. Aranda, who could be seen putting the substitutes through their paces along the touch-line at Southampton on Saturday, works alongside Director of Medical Tony Strudwick and his team.

In all, there are five members of staff at the club who are a part of this promising campaign because Corberan is in situ - and, more importantly, because he values their input.

"I never talk only by myself," Corberan said. "I talk always with the people I represent as a head coach. I have one group of assistants and if you don't have the right people with you then it's impossible to achieve anything. These type of people, who support my work, I have people who came with me and I have people who were already at the club.

"I'm pleased of course with the people who I've brought with me, and these people you usually have an experience of before. Then there are the people of the club who you don't have a previous experience with, but here I've found very good people. When I tell you I'm pleased to be here and proud to be at the club, it's not only for myself - I speak for everyone I represent."

Specifically on Aranda, Corberan is pleased to have a footballing mind such as his to call upon, especially as Albion prepare to enter a particularly testing schedule in the winter and look to have as many members of their squad available to them at every opportunity.

"One of the roles he has is to help the physical department, specifically in the prevention of the injuries," he added. "To manage and co-ordinate and support the other physical coaches, who we have here and who are extraordinary people, to know how much strength they can and cannot do and to work in some small actions that can help us avoid injuries. He works with the physical department especially to help avoid injuries to the players."