Hodgson, whose side entertain Stoke on Sunday, regards Odemwingie as one of his front-line players after he scored 15 Premier League goals last season during his first campaign at the Hawthorns. But the Nigeria international, who recently signed a new three-year contract, has only just regained fitness after suffering an ankle injury during a pre-season clash at Bristol City. Hodgson said: "Am I tempted to start Odemwingie? It is dependent on how fit he is and if he is ready yet to go into the side from the start. "I will have to liaise with the medical department. I regard Odemwingie as a starting player, as one of the players who should be one of our important team members. "To win matches you have to score goals. Peter scored 15 goals in his debut Premier League season. "We have rewarded him accordingly (with the new contract). Now it is up to him to get out on the field and prove as he did last year that he is (an important player)." Hodgson retains an interest in signing midfielder Owen Hargreaves who is a free agent after being released by Manchester United but insists there is no rush to complete any potential deal. The Albion head coach said: "There is no rush on our side. It can take the time it takes. "Owen has been out of football totally for a year and last played briefly four years ago. Weeks and days don't make that much difference." Hodgson does not expect to make any other signings before the transfer window closes unless he can off-load any fringe members of his squad. He said: "We are not actively seeking other players. If anything was going to happen now it would be if we were going to get raided for one or two other players. "If we are missing in an area we would have to go and look." Hodgson will try and combat the threat posed by Stoke and relishes the different challenges the Premier League throws up to overcome. He said: "You try during the course of the week to work out how the opposition are likely to play. "You assess their strengths and weaknesses and, in your training sessions, defend against their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. "Stoke play differently to Blackburn who play differently to Wigan. Every week you make sure you have some degree of expertise of the type of football you will come up against. "Practice is rehearsing just as actors rehearse."
