Working alongside a distinguished, highprofile ex-England international such as Bryan Robson will always grant a man a certain amount of anonymity.

The West Bromwich Albion manager has rightly taken most of the acclaim for the Baggies' marvellous revival which has helped them out of the Premiership relegation zone - but there is no doubt his assistant Nigel Pearson also deserves some credit.

Pearson, who played for Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough in the top flight, rarely appears in the national media because his style is rather more low key than many of the present players and personalities in the Premiership.

However the 41-year-old, who possesses a Uefa A licence, is very well respected at Albion's training ground where his enthusiasm and advanced coaching skills have done much to revitalise the team's fortunes this term.

Last Sunday's 1-1 draw at Aston Villa lifted Albion out of the relegation zone for the first time in five months.

And players such as defender Neil Clement believe Pearson - who used to worked with England's Under-20s - has been instrumental in their recent progress.

Clement said: "Nigel has made a big difference, he enjoys himself around the club but when it comes to training it is time to switch on and he takes it very seriously.

"He is a firm character and I think both him and the manager gained instant respect from the lads because they were obviously really good players.

"Nigel was an excellent centre-back as a player and it is great to be able to turn to someone like him for advice."

Pearson and Robson can both be seen on the training ground most days working with the club's squad and it is noticeable that the players seem to enjoy themselves more now than they did under Gary Megson's regime.

Clement added: "I remember when I was at Chelsea, the then manager Glenn Hoddle said coming into training should be the best part of a player's day and it definitely is now - for me anyway.

"It was very intense before but I really enjoy it now and that is down to the manager and Nigel Pearson.

"Training means we have an enjoyable base to work from; Nigel's sessions are enthusiastic and he likes to keep it sharp.

"We work a lot on team shape and they like us to feel fresh going into games so they don't tend to tire us out."

Albion's management duo have also made a few subtle tactical changes - as Clement fully appreciates because he has thrived since being switched to centre-back.

Kieran Richardson has also excelled in centre of midfield despite primarily being a left winger, and some of Robson's alterations in games have changed the course of the match.

Clement said: "I think they are both tactically shrewd as they have shown with some important decisions over the last few weeks.

"At Charlton throwing Robert Earnshaw on as substitute won us the game with his hattrick and last week at Villa it wasn't going well but we changed the shape and were much better in the second half."

Albion will look to continue their resurgence at Tottenham Hotspur next Wednesday when they return to league action.

But the visitors to the capital will be without midfielder Jonathan Greening, who is banned for three games following his red card at Villa for a clash of heads with Liam Ridgewell.

"I think that is a big blow for us," added Clement. "Jonathan has been excellent for us down the left side, especially in the last four or five games. He has made a few goals with his assists and has a good delivery.

"He has a nice cutback too but we should have enough quality to cope without him."