Gareth McAuley has urged West Bromwich Albion to strengthen their squad as soon as possible ahead of the start of 2014-15 Premier League season.

The Baggies are looking for a new manager after parting company with Pepe Mel at the end of the season, having avoided relegation by just three points.

The defender told the Express & Star: "There is a lot of work to go on and a lot of things to get right in the summer. We need to get the new players in and, when we go away for pre-season, that's the best time for everyone to be in because you're working on stuff.

"If you do it just before the start of the new season, new faces pop up and they don't know what you've been working on for the previous five or six weeks and it's difficult for them to get going.

"Hopefully we can get things sorted as early as possible and not have a season like this again. We need to make sure the players that are coming back for pre-season are coming back ready to have a good season and get off to a good start because last year we didn't have a good start and never really got going."

West Brom's 17th-place finish was their lowest since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2010.