TONY Mowbray insists Jason Koumas' sale to Wigan helped Albion win promotion last season.

The Wales international was allowed to leave the Baggies for the JJB Stadium in a £5.3million deal after the 2007 Play-Off Final defeat by Derby.

The Hawthorns boss reinvested the money for the Wales international in building a new-look squad that won the Coca-Cola Championship title last term.

The Baggies now head to Lancashire in the Barclays Premier League tomorrow (ko 3pm), just five points behind the Latics, with Mowbray more than aware Koumas is capable of being a match-winner for Steve Bruce's men.

"Footballers generally look after their own careers and if they 'shake enough bushes' they can get out of clubs," said the Albion chief.

"Players wanted to leave our club and we reached the point where we said 'let them go, let's start again'.

"We accrued £5.3m for Koumas and good luck to him.

"He wanted to go to pastures new and I wasn't going to stand in his way.

"The money we brought in for him enabled us to build a new team to get out of the Championship and we now find ourselves in the Premier League.

"Jason wanted to go. It wasn't a question of me not wanting him.

"Jason is a very talented individual footballer with a stroke of genius in him that can win games and he did win some games, almost on his own." 

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