West Brom summer loan arrival Paddy McNair has enjoyed his start to life at the Hawthorns and is predicting a good season for the Baggies as the Championship action pauses for the first international break of the campaign.
McNair left Middlesbrough at the end of last term as his contract at the Riverside Stadium came to an end. After spending a month without a club, the Northern Ireland international joined San Diego FC on a three-and-a-half year deal ahead of their inaugural season in Major League Soccer. With the 2025 MLS season not underway until January, McNair joined West Brom on a six-month loan deal during the summer. He has yet to make an appearance in the Championship for the Baggies with Carlos Corberan’s side sitting second in the table with 10 points from their opening four games.
“I have really enjoyed it. I have loved it, to be fair. Great group of lads and I have really enjoyed working with him [Corberan]. The training is really good. I think it will be a good season for West Brom,” McNair told Birmingham World from Northern Ireland’s international camp ahead of Nations League fixtures against Luxembourg and Bulgaria.
“He is passionate. He is very hands on, on the training pitch. Me personally, I quite enjoy that. Each manager you have, you learn little things, so it is good. He has worked under [Marcelo] Bielsa, so it’s good to learn off him.”
Once McNair’s loan at West Brom concludes, it will mark the end of an era for the defender who has spent a number of years in the Championship. Having turned 29 in April, the Ballyclare-born man was keen to test himself outside the of the United Kingdom, having come through Manchester United’s academy before spells with Sunderland and Middlesbrough. However, he insists a move across the Atlantic will be no picnic as he hopes to maintain his place in the Northern Ireland squad for years to come.
“I wouldn’t have gone [to the MLS] if it had affected my international career,” McNair added. “It is a league that is improving and there are high profile players in the league and it will be a good experience. I’m not going to America for a holiday. It’s still a competitive, tough league. It’s just the experience, something different. Obviously I’ve played in the Championship for a long time and it was just sort of that experience, just to sort of look back and say I did try something else that wasn’t just the same old thing.”
