Clarke rules out European bid

Steve Clarke says he is not surprised by West Brom's superb start to the Barclays Premier League season but has played down talk of challenging for a European spot.

Albion moved into fourth place after defeating QPR 3-2 at the Hawthorns, and have now taken 14 points from their opening seven games. It completed a successful 24 hours for the midlands outfit after key defender Jonas Olsson signed a new four-year contract on Friday evening.

But head coach Clarke was keeping his feet firmly on the ground after seeing goals from James Morrison, Zoltan Gera and Youssouf Mulumbu earn the Baggies a fourth successive home league win. Reflecting on his side's start, Clarke said: "It takes a lot to surprise me. I knew when I came into this job that I was inheriting a really good group of players."

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