Former striker Peter Odemwingie has opened up about his three-year spell at West Brom, admitting that he found it difficult after Steve Clarke took charge at the Hawthorns.

The 38-year-old joined West Brom from Locomotiv Moscow in August 2010 and went on to become an important player for the Baggies during their time in the Premier League, scoring 31 goals during 90 appearances.

During a recent interview with Planet Football, Odemwingie has opened up about his three years at the Hawthrons and discussed some of his highs and lows at the club.

The former Nigeria striker admitted that he enjoyed his time at the club and that although some questioned his decision to move to the Hawthorns, he was in no doubt it was the right club for him at the time.

“I believed in myself. A lot of people were saying that it was the wrong club, that they go up and then they come down, but I have a strong intuition generally,” Odemwingie told Planet Football.

Odemwingie scored 15 Premier League goals during his first season for the Baggies and was able to quickly establish himself as a fans' favourite at the Hawthorns.

He scored ten top-flight goals during his second season for Albion, including a memorable hat-trick during a 5-1 win at rivals Wolves.

However, Odemwingie has also revealed that he was frustrated at West Brom after Steve Clarke took over as manager and that he found it difficult to cope with the Scot's decision to move him from his central striking role onto the wing.

“Steve Clarke came in as manager. I have a lot of respect for Steve, but he has his own managerial style and at the time it wasn’t something I liked,” he admitted.

“He often put me on the bench without saying anything, even if my last game had been fantastic. This was something new I had to deal with and I think if we had more communication maybe I’d have been less angry about it.

“He moved me out of my striking role onto the wing. In my first two seasons I’d been top scorer for a reason, because I played through the middle. I had to deal with that at the same time as being one of the players they rotated.”

West Brom have made a fine start to the new season under Slaven Bilic and are currently fourth in the Championship table after taking twelve points from their opening six league matches.

The Verdict

Odemwingie was an important player for West Brom and scored plenty of goals for the club. He was a popular player with Baggies fans and many still remember him for his hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Wolves.

Fair play to him for being so open and honest about his time at the club and I'm sure West Brom fans will find his latest comments very interesting.

Given that he achieved a lot of success as a striker at West Brom, it's easy to understand why Odemwingie would question Clarke's decision to move him out to the wing.

However, this was the best part of a decade ago and he can still afford to look back on his time at the club with fond memories.