The Austrian, who joined his new club on a free transfer during the summer, spent nearly five years at Wigan, but is prepared to use his experience to West Brom's advantage if required. He said: "If they ask me then I have lots of tips in my pocket. But I think the gaffer will analyse Wigan very well and then we will have a good set-up for the game. "I am excited because I played for four and a half years for Wigan. It was my longest spell at a club since I was a professional footballer. I am looking forward to meeting all my ex-colleagues." Scharner added that Wigan's poor early season form is in keeping with a pattern that emerged while he played for the club. "Actually it's quite similar picture to the seasons before - a very slow start," he said. "At the moment they are in the relegation zone, but I think they have good potential in the squad to stay in the league." At just 30, Scharner is the oldest player in the West Brom squad, aside from player/coach Dean Kiely, something he thinks is a positive. "This shows just how much potential is in the team," he said. "I'm enjoying it. You can't fight age, just look after your body, so that's what I'm doing." Scharner was brought in to add mental toughness to the side, and head coach Roberto Di Matteo feels that his team's strong displays towards the end of recent matches have shown this. "We have the strength and the resilience to come back, which is very difficult in the Premier League," he said Di Matteo added that his team still has not reached it's full potential. He added: "We perform certain aspects of the game very well, but we still have to manage ourselves better during games. "We're still making too many mistakes in my opinion, but I think that comes with the fact that we are new to the league, and we still have to learn. We're a work in progress." West Brom's good start to the season took many people by surprise, but recent results have not quite lived up to those early high standards, with the team taking only one point from matches against Blackpool, Manchester City and West Ham. But Di Matteo feels supporters should keep the team's status as newcomers in mind as the season progresses. He said: "They can enjoy themselves, but let's not forget our identity - who we are, what our aim is and where we come from. "I hope they are excited and enjoying what we're trying to do, but it's a very difficult league and we're happy that we have got the points we have so far. "It's a crazy league, with some unexpected results, and that's the way this season is going to go."
