Saturday 23 August 2014 18:41, UK
Alan Irvine admits West Bromwich Albion remain a work in progress and is hoping to further bolster his ranks before deadline day.
A 0-0 draw at Southampton on Saturday means Irvine's men have been held in each of their opening two fixtures – with a St Mary's stalemate coming on the back of a point at home to Sunderland.
While plenty of positives can be taken from the battling nature of both displays, there is still room for improvement.
I’m not sure I’m going to see my philosophy for a while because obviously we are trying to put a team together at this particular moment.
Irvine concedes as much, with it always going to take time for his methods to make an impact at The Hawthorns.
He told Sky Sports: "I'm not sure I'm going to see my philosophy for a while because obviously we are trying to put a team together at this particular moment.
"But the players are doing extremely well in training, they are great to work with, there are a lot of good players in the squad, and I feel that we will continue to make progress through the season."
On the Southampton point he added: "I feel that we were well organised when we didn't have possession.
"We passed the ball well in periods during the game. We created only a couple of chances and it was probably a fair result in the end."
One headache for Irvine after a dogged display on the South Coast came in the form of another injury picked up by Nigeria international striker Victor Anichebe.
He said of the knock: "It's hopefully nothing serious. We have to get him assessed tomorrow and see exactly what the problem is. I'm not completely sure what it is at this moment.
"It's a real shame because Victor's going to be a very important player for us."
West Brom can, however, take heart from the fact that they have added another forward to their books in former Celtic man Georgios Samaras, and Irvine hopes there are more to follow.
He said: "I'm delighted to have Georgios in, he's a very good player and a very experienced player who has played in a lot of top-level games.
"I do expect us to hopefully bring in another two."
