Mikey Harris says the Albion head coach role is “incredibly attractive” to potential candidates worldwide.

Chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber this week said the club are searching globally for a permanent appointment in charge of their WSL side.

Harris has been in interim charge in recent months and has implemented what is seen as the club playing style.

He has also seen first-hand what the new man or women would be walking into as Albion pursue their long-term goal of being a top-four WSL club.

Ahead of today’s home game with Aston Villa (1pm), Harris told The Argus: “I think it is incredibly attractive.

“You look at the infrastructure of the football club.

“I know personally, working with the staff, that the people who are here are amazing.

“I think we have the bulk of a really strong squad.

“With a home stadium in the plans and a vision to be in the top four, it is an incredibly attractive job to coaches throughout the world who are available at the moment.”

Barber also told this week’s fans forum that Harris himself “will certainly be considered as a candidate”.

Albion showed a high level of trust in the former under-18 men’s head coach to move him across nd change the way the women’s team play.

Melissa Phillips had previously set the team up in a more pragmatic style which was not seen as suiting the players available and results, and accompanying performance metrics, were poor.

The mission for Harris has been reminiscent of that undertaken by Graham Potter when he first took over the men’s team and often referred to “fixing the aeroplane while flying it”.

Harris said: “I think you can see from teams like Tottenham and Man City, who have a really clear identity, who stick to their principle and look to get better within that, you can see what they can achieve over a long period of time.

“That would be my belief, that we are in a good place.

“We have got some good foundations.

“Clearly you would always want to recruit the best players you possibly can.

“I am really confident we can break into that top half.

“We have the facilities, the infrastructure and the people here to do it.

“Let’s see how far we can go with it.”

Harris sees greater belief in the style Albion are playing now than when he first came in.

He said: “We go away to Tottenham and I think some our play was outstanding.

“I wonder whether they would have had the belief to be able to play like that back then (in Harris’s early days).

“That has been the biggest shift for me and I think also we have shown we have used lots of different players in different positions, whether that is starting the game or finishing the game, and everyone has contributed in a really positive fashion.”

To be clear, none of that assessment of where the team are now was said as part of a job application via the media.

So is he a candidate, as Barber suggested?

Harris replied: “We have to wait and see with that.

“From my perspective, nothing has changed.

“I said when I came into this role, I am happy to do it for as long as the club wants me to do it.

“If those discussions are to make it longer, then we can sit down and talk about that.”