TONY Mowbray admits Sherjill MacDonald and Marek Cech's chances of being handed a starting place against Fulham on Saturday (ko 3pm) depend on what formation he chooses to play.

The duo will both be looking to break into the side in the absence of injury victims Chris Brunt (hamstring) and Do-heon Kim (knee).

"Both of them have an opportunity to come in but I haven't decided how I am playing yet," said the Albion boss.

"On Mondays I break down the game from Saturday and on Tuesday I start my preparation.

"I'll be watching two full 90 minutes of Fulham and watching how they play away from home and at home.

"I will pick the team to do the best we can to hurt them and I will put certain people in certain areas to do that.

"Until I study Fulham I don't know who is coming in.

"For instance I might want to start with Greening or Morrison wide on the left, which means that Marek won't come into the equation and Sherjill might start wide on the right or behind the striker.

"Until I see how I think they might be vulnerable I won't decide who is playing.

"Fulham are very good in midfield and we have to be aware of the way they play and how their wide players come in off the line.

"If I think we have to block the area in front of their strikers we will put a player in there, if I think they are vulnerable behind their midfield two we will put a player in there and if I think their centre-halves can be got at we will put two up front.

"That's the way football is and I don't look at it in terms of formations.

"I try to pick a team that will hurt the opposition."

Mowbray also explained his decision to bring MacDonald on for the injured Kim in the first minute of Saturday's 1-0 win at Middlesbrough on Saturday and then replace him with Ishmael Miller at half-time.

Cech, who has not started a Premier League game since the opening day at Arsenal, featured as a 77th-minute replacement for James Morrison at the Riverside Stadium.

"I was trying to be positive with the change so early in the game rather than sending a negative message," the Baggies chief added.

"I am very conscious that, while we play five in midfield, if you break down the five midfield players they can all get into goalscoring areas and score for us.

"I was trying to be positive for the psychology of the team because I didn't want to go onto the back foot and, yet, I still see Sherjill very much as an impact player who can come off the bench for the last 20 minutes.

"He could have come on for the last 20 minutes of that game and made an impact with them chasing an equaliser and going man-for-man at the back.

"Ishmael gave us what Sherjill could also give us, which was blistering pace to burst away and get in on goal.

"It was probably a bit unfair but I made the decision to put him on.

"He went on so early that it didn't really enter my mind that I was taking a substitute off to put one on.

"It was a formation decision at half-time rather than bringing an individual off.

"If he had played those 40 seconds instead of Kim he would probably still have been coming off.

"It's just football and about the team, not individuals.

"The team got the result at the end of it, which is what was important." 

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